Page 29 - Insurance Times January 2024

(i) Proposal form should be compulsorily signed by Policy are reinstatement basis policy and there
the insured after filling it properly. is choice of rate of construction of the building

(ii) The Agent must visit the premises and must and many other facilities for Insured.
complete the claim form by physical verification (viii) The Banks currently does not have any awareness
of shops, godown, warehouse. meeting with insured and surveyor. There should
be annual provision for the banks to organize one
(iii) The Agent should also verify the required
small interactive programme with the Surveyors,
documents i.e ownership of the premises rent
Insured and agents about changes in the policy,
receipts and other details as per policy.
rate of premium and terms & condition etc. The
(iv) The agent should also verify the fire fighting cost should be beared by the agents or banks as
facilities and other safety norms required as per per IRDAI Act 2000.
proposal form. It must be taken as declaration by
(ix) The bank usually collects the standard rate of
insured in proposal form.
premium for the company which has tie-up with
(v) The photograph of the shop or godown or the bank. Whereas as per market practice there
warehouse must be taken by the agent and be are provisions of discount. Banks do not compare
uploaded with the proposal form. the rate, and consequently collect the highest
rate from the insured. They are deducting the
(vi) The size of the shop and other relevant details,
money from the bank account without
including specification of the building and the
information to insured.
shop, must be declared in the proposal form.
(vii) The proposal form is not comprehensive hence In Bancassurance there should be more transparency about
there should be provision of supplementary the product being sold, premium charged and proper
information about the risk inspection of the coverage of assets. This effort will prevent misselling and
building either submitted by the inspection report help to reduce dissatisfaction of insured and rejection of
of Insurance Surveyor or self declaration by the claims. Selling of General Insurance products needs technical
insured because all the policies within 50 crores expertise and knowledge about product. Our penetration is
under Bharat Laghu Udyam policy and Bharat still very low and if the confidence of customer is eroded it
Small Udyam Policy and Bharat Griha Raksha creates a ripple effect.

Bima Vistaar to be rolled out in Q1 of FY25

Bima Vistaar, the first of its kind all-in-one affordable insurance product for life, health, and property cover, is set to be
rolled out in the first quarter of the next financial year.
"The product design and other key aspects for rolling out Bima Vistaar are almost complete. We need a technology
platform to launch the product, which is being looked into by the Life and General Insurance Councils," a senior official
of the IRDAI told.
"In all probability, the product will be rolled out in the first quarter of FY25," the official said, adding that the ecosystem
required for the launch of the product is being put in place."
The launch of Bima Vistaar is significant because it is part of the "Insurance Trinity," along with Bima Sugam, a one stop
digital platform; and Bima Vahak, a women led field distribution force. These are all major components of IRDAI's vision
to achieve insurance for all by 2047 while bridging the existing gaps in product design, pricing, and distribution, among
others. "It is noteworthy that the insurance industry is also looking forward to the launch of the product and is bullish
on it. The regulator is not in favour of imposing any policies or decisions on the insurers, and everything is being done in
a consultative manner,'' the official said.

The launch of Bima Vistaar will also bring Bima Vahak, the women led insurance distribution channel. The guidelines for
putting the channel in place have already been issued, and the regulator said the Bima Vahak guidelines will come into
effect with the rollout of Bima Vistaar. IRDAI believes that women 'Vahaks' will be better positioned to convince
women members of rural households of the need for affordable social security and take cover through Bima Vistaar.

26 January 2024 The Insurance Times