Page 11 - Life Insurance Today FEBRUARY 2016
P. 11
party administrators, etc. supporting the proposals of indi-
vidual members to insurance companies through recom-
mendations.
Setting Links with the Insurers: protection is offered to these households. The rural and
social sector obligations and the micro-insurance regula-
On a modest scale, various forms of life and health insur- tions from IRDA are definitely the important steps in the
ance have been successfully practiced by different institu- direction of ensuring health protection for the poor.
tions in different countries, particularly as part of loan pro-
tection schemes. Micro-health insurance procedures and While enabling regulations are in place and several insur-
services need to be set by insurers rather than the regula- ance companies are in operations in India, there is still a
tor. Appropriate procedures and services should be applied need for innovation in health products and distribution sys-
to obtain: tem/channels for ensuring the penetration of micro-health
1. Sound financial management, insurance to the masses that need it. And along the way,
there is also the challenge of educating the vast majority
2. Convenient and safe savings premium collection and of population on the importance of health insurance that
deposit facilities, has to be addressed.
3. Appropriate claim appraisal and processing procedures, Challenges to overcome:
4. Adequate risk management, It indicated that micro-health insurance initiatives can defi-
nitely alter the picture of low health insurance penetration
5. Timely collection of premium installments, in rural areas in India in immediate future but obviously
there are certain challenges to be overcome to achieve
6. Monitoring, sustainable and scalable micro-health insurance models, as
well as there is a dire need for creating actuarial data for
7. Effective information gathering, all of which may in- micro-health insurance, rather than searching for actuarial
clude cooperation between different formal and non- data for getting micro-health insurance started.
formal intermediaries in fields where each one is most
effective. Most poor didn’t have access to health insurance in the
past as in the present (through the initiatives of NGOs/
Since all the insurers are having obligations to operate in SHGs). This translates into absence of data regarding fre-
social & rural sector and all micro-health insurance policies quencies of various health related risks faced by them. In
could be counted for the purposes of social obligations to the absence of this data, insurance companies are often
be fulfilled by an insurer as per the provisions of the Insur- constrained to offer health products, as the availability of
ance Act, 1938 and the IRDA Regulations made there un- historical data is critical to the design of health insurance
der, some efforts must be visible in Indian market. products.
The Challenges of Micro-health Insur-
ance:
Inclusive growth is now recognized as a necessary condi-
tion to ensure long-term sustainability of growth in India.
Bringing in financial inclusion for the poor, rural and socially
disadvantaged sections of the society is now a major thrust
area for policy interventions. The vulnerability of this cat-
egory of households is very high to various risks related to
their lives, health and livelihood activities.
Therefore, making insurance services available to them
becomes a key strategy to ensure that sustainable social
The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
Life Insurance Today February 2016 11
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