Page 9 - Insurance Times September 2021

towards ensuring policy certainty, add- operationalisation of the Development ture, adding that the first quarter's
ing that the regulators also have a key Finance Institution (DFI) will ensure handsome revenues create a room for
role in ensuring the same. She said the long-term lending for projects, the same, as per the statement.
government is working with the regu- Sitharaman said. The DFI will increase
lators on this "important issue", as per competition for banks and also improve Insurance products for In-
the statement. their efficiency, the statement quoted dian consumers.
The finance minister emphasised the her as saying. Gunjan Ghai, Vice President and Head
importance of 'India's own equity capi- In the meeting, which comes in the of Insurance, states this license to be a
tal' while addressing the industry and wake of a controversy caused by her big milestone in the company's insur-
assured government facilitation for sun- cabinet colleague PiyushGoyal's re- ance journey. "This move to broking will
rise sectors and startups. ported remarks about disenchantment give us further momentum and accel-
Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said his with the industry for not keeping the erate our growth in this space."
department was working on tax-related nation's interest in mind, Sitharaman
PhonePe forayed into the insurance seg-
issues of startups and sought said, "This government believes in lis- ment in January 2020 as a 'corporate
industryinputs on the same. tening, working and responding and
agent' and has since launched offerings
Sitharaman also assured the industry of would extend all possible support." across general insurance, term insur-
addressing issues related to competi- Tata Steel's T V Narendran said for ance and health insurance.
tiveness, including high power tariffs, growth to take deep roots, sustained The platform is India's leading digital pay-
and matters related to cumbersome demand is critical, and the immediate ments platform having more than 300
regulatory compliances, the statement source of demand has to be govern- million registered users. Using PhonePe,
said. ment expenditure. users can send and receive money, re-
The economy is moving gradually from Narendran also recommended charge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at
a bank-led lending model to a more frontloading of the committed capital stores, make utility payments, buy gold and
market-based finance model and the expenditure, especially on infrastruc- make investments. T

Rs. 10,703 cr covid claims pending

With insurance claims going through the roof amid the Covid-19 pandemic, insurance companies are sitting on al-
most one-third of the claims submitted by patients since the pandemic hit the country in the beginning of the finan-
cial year 2020-21. Over 3.06 lakh Covid claims for Rs 10,703 crore are pending before insurance companies as on
August 6, indicating the pressure being faced by insurers despite Delhi High Court and insurance regulator IRDAI
directing the insurance firms to complete the settlement of Covid claims in an hour after discharge.
Health insurance companies have received a total of 23.06 lakh claims worth Rs 29,341 crore as on August 6, 2021,
according to figures compiled by the General Insurance Council. However, insurance firms have settled only Rs 17,813
crore involving 18.99 claims so far. Of the total claims, 13.19 lakh claims worth Rs 14,783 crore came between April
1 and August 6, 2021 during the financial year 2021-22 while 9.86 lakh claims for Rs 14,560 crore were reported
during the financial year ended March 2021.
According to insurers, the sharp rise in Covid claims has hit them substantially. "Yes, health claims have gone up a
lot. While the number of claims went up, the average cost of a covid claim is twice the size of non-covid claims. Thus,
the hit has been substantial," said Kamesh Goyal, Chairman, Digit Insurance.

Star Health to raise funds by an initial share sale
Star Health and Allied Insurance Company has filed preliminary papers with SEBI to raise funds through an initial
share sale. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity worth Rs. 2,000 crore and an offer for sale of up to 6.01 crore
shares by promoters and existing shareholders, according to the draft prospectus. The selling shareholders included
Safecrop Investments India LLP, Konark Trust and MMPL Trust (promoter and promoter group) and existing investors
Apis Growth 6 Ltd, Mio IV Star, University of Notre Dame Du Lac, Mio Star, ROC Capital Pty Ltd, Venkatasamy
Jagannathan, Sai Satish and Berjis Minoo Desai. The public offer includes a reservation for eligible employees.

The Insurance Times, September 2021 9