Page 46 - Insurance Times February 2022

Market'. BIMTECH's Prof Abhijit K Chattoraj and Prof Pratik Y R Balasundaram, Secretary-General, Insurance Brokers
Priyadarshi were the esteemed moderators for this event. Association of India

Prof. (Dr) Abhijit K. Chattoraj, Chartered Insurer Dean - Y SumitDutt, Head - Sales and Client Management
SW&SS, Professor & Chairperson - PGDM-Insurance Business (Corporate Risk and Broking), Willis Towers Watson India
Management Program, Birla Institute of Management Insurance Brokers
Technology (BIMTECH) moderated a session at the 15th
India Virtual Rendezvous, 19 - 21 January 2022. and the
session: - Brokers Panel- " The Way Forward " with the Prof Pratik Priyadarshi, Associate Professor, Member -
following sub-topics: Academic Council, Risk Management Association of India,
Y Innovation and the broker of the future Birla Institute of Management Technology moderated at the
15th India Virtual Rendezvous, 19 - 21 January 2022. and
Y How do brokers stay relevant in today's challenging
environment? the session - Education Panel - "Will Hybrid be the Future of
Insurance Education?"
Y Post COVID-19: Returning to normalcy and the
challenges ahead for the broking community
The eminent Panellists were:
Y How to keep the broking business sustainable?
Y What constructive collaborative roles can brokers play Y G Srinivasan, Director, National Insurance Academy
in the insurance ecosystem? Y M C Chaturvedi, Director, College of Insurance,
The eminent Panellists were: Insurance Institute of India
Y Hari Radhakrishnan, Regional Director, First Policy Y Dr. T.P. Madhu Nair, Member, Academic Council,
Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd University of Mumbai

No instant term insurance for covid survivors

Covid-19 cases have been surging over the three weeks and there's a lack of clarity around the after-effects of omicron.
Amid this ambiguity, getting a term insurance might take longer for those who have recovered from covid. To balance
policy issuance with claims, many life insurers are now insisting on a three-month wait period for covid survivors who
want to buy a term insurance policy.
Yogesh Aggarwal, founder at Onsurity, said, "The recent trend of insurance companies insisting on a waiting period
varies between a minimum of one month to three months for covid-19 infected people." He further said, "The second
wave has been a catastrophic event with the profound economic and social loss for all of us, leading to larger pay-
outs for insurance companies as well. The year 2021 witnessed a substantial increase in the number of policies sold.
To balance policy issuance with claims and to ensure that there is no misleading information on the declared health
condition, the insurance companies have put risk assessment practices in place for safeguarding genuine customers'
interest while keeping a check on the rising life insurance premium cost."

Sajja Praveen Chowdary, head, Term Life Insurance, Policybazaar.com, said, "Term insurance policy covers your life
for a considerable amount at a nominal premium. In term policies, underwriters across the world are paying extra
attention for ages now in case of any medical condition occurred six months prior the policy application date."
Therefore, insurers are also demanding extra medical tests to assess the risk and severity of infection for those who
have not purchased the term policy yet.
"Pre-Covid, the number of individuals who had any health issues with themselves or family in the past six months
would have been small. But, given the way omicron Covid infection cases have been, this number has automatically
increased because many have turned positive in recent days. As a result, the term insurance policy proposal gets into
the zone of inspection where extra medical tests are inquired for or might get postponed for three months. And as
people are getting cautious of stepping out of their homes due to omicron Covid infection, it is understandable from
their viewpoint that they don't wish to go out for medical tests or let somebody come to their homes to collect samples.
Conversely, it becomes challenging for the insurer to accept the risk and issue a term insurance policy without assessing
the risk accurately in the absence of fresh medical reports," said Chowdary.

46 The Insurance Times, February 2022