Page 14 - The Insurance Times October 2021

has gone up 40% to Rs 28,715 from Rs worth Rs 20,430 crore, with the money Kumar added that most of the growth
20,508 for a Rs 3 lakh cover. going to the health sector. A total of happened in the first quarter compared

With the domiciliary option, the cost has 1.81 lakh claims for Rs 1,319 crore have to the same period last year. "We are
gone up lower. For retired workmen, the been repudiated, according to figures seeing the demand plateauing now that
cost of the same cover is now Rs 55,175 compiled by the General Insurance the second wave has stabilised," Kumar
which is 8.4% higher than Rs s 50.893 Council. said. However, insurers do not expect a
last year and for officers, it is 7.5% higher While 8.47 lakh insurance claims were steep plunge given the lingering fear of
at Rs 72, 917 from Rs 67,853 last year. filed in Maharashtra for Rs 8,650 crore, a third wave, apart from the general
IBA negotiates group insurance on it was followed by Gujarat (3.24 lakh growth in awareness about insurance
behalf of retired employees who are claims for Rs 3,793 crore), Karnataka and its benefits. Despite the payouts due
required to pay the premium. National (2.53 lakh claims for Rs 2,712 crore) and to the spike in claims, the insurers
Insurance Company has offered lower- Tamil Nadu (2.41 lakh claims for Rs 3,447 expect an accelerated growth for the
premium cover for lower-sum insured crore). Telangana reported the highest segment due to this. Health insurance
and for policies where the retiree does average per person claim of Rs 1.72 lakh premiums have been the main drivers
not have a surviving spouse or the while Arunachal Pradesh registered the of the non life insurance industry since
retiree is survived by a spouse. highest average per person settled the commencement of the pandemic.
claim of Rs 1.24 lakh.
Insurers say cost of most group policies "In India, structural growth has been
that have come up for renewal after the In the five months ending August 21, the key driver for the health insurance
second wave has seen an increase the health portfolio of insurers jumped business for a long time, with an
because of a higher payout. by 32.25 per cent to Rs 30,192 crore, as exceptionally high share of out-of-
against Rs 22,830 crore in the same pocket expenditure, poor state of
Covid cover claims at Rs period a year ago. "The second wave of government health facilities and rising
the pandemic was more severe than the
31,624 crore first, causing higher uncertainty and fear affluence among the masses," notes a
SINCE the time the Covid pandemic among the masses. This resulted in report by Emkay Global Financial
began in March 2020, insurance increased demand for health insurance, Services.
companies have received 25.64 lakh including group policies, as more "An increase in the number of people
claims for Rs 31,624 crore from people employers realised the need to cover (retail and group) opting for health
affected by the virus, with badly hit their employees," said Vijay Kumar, CEO insurance, demand for better coverage
Maharashtra accounting for the largest and principal officer, Digit Insurance. among existing policyholders, demand
numbers by far. The average claim works Retail health policies jumped 22.35 per for short-term Covid-19 health cover
out to Rs 1.23 lakh per person, and the cent to Rs 9,566 crore and group policies and increased claims costs driving prices
average settlement to Rs 91,287. rose 25.79 per cent to Rs 11,903 crore up have resulted in very strong growth

Insurers have settled 22.38 lakh claims in the April-August period. in premiums," the report adds. T
Cabinet committee clears ECGC listing, to infuse Rs 4,400-crore

over 5 years

In order to boost exports, the Union Cabinet approved a capital infusion of Rs 4,400 crore in state-owned Export Credit
Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) over five years as well as plans to list the export insurer via an initial public offering (IPO).
It also cleared capital infusion of Rs 1,650 crore in the National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) to boost project exports.
"The infusion of this Rs 4,400 crore will enable ECGC to write insurance policies covering exports of an additional Rs 88,000
crore," Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said at a press briefing. He added the move would primarily benefit MSMEs
which form 97 per cent of the client base of ECGC. The state-run ECGC provides credit insurance services to exporters
against non-payment risks by overseas buyers as well as insurance cover to banks against risks in lending to exporters.
Goyal said the government would immediately infuse Rs 500 crore in ECGC and another Rs 500 crore next fiscal, with the
rest set to be made available as required. ECGC currently has an 85 per cent market share for export credit insurance in
the country and provided support to exports worth Rs 6.02 lakh, or 28 per cent of merchandise exports, in FY21. The Rs
4,400-crore fund infusion could support additional exports of Rs 5.28 lakh crore over five years.

14 The Insurance Times, October 2021