Page 11 - The Insurance Times July 2020

IRDAI sets up panel to March 25 in view of the Covid-19 pan- The letter suggested that the premium
demic and lockdown, which enabled for such a scheme be shared by the
draft standard indemnity registered medical practitioners to employer, employee, and government.

policy provide healthcare over the tele- "Insurance cover for retention re-
phone. trenchment will add to social security
IRDAI has set up a panel to frame stan-
available for employees through the
dard professional indemnity policy for "In the above background, insurers are
insurance intermediaries that can be advised to allow telemedicine wher- EPFO (Employee Provident Fund
issued by all the insurers. The develop- ever consultation with a medical prac- Organisation) and ESIC (Employees'
ment came after IRDAI witnessed sev- titioner is allowed in the terms and State Insurance Corporation)," the let-
eral instances where policies taken by conditions of the policy contract," ter said.
insurance intermediaries did not com- IRDAI said in a circular. "The reference has come from the
ply with the regulatory provisions. ministry to the GI Council, to check on
The provision to allow telemedicine
the feasibility on a cover against re-
Professional indemnity policy offers should be a part of the claim settle- trenchment. It will be discussed on the
protection to professionals against po- ment policy of the insurer and need not
council level, and then sent to the
tential claims for injury or loss result- be filed separately with the authority regulator for approval," said the CEO
ing from their advice action for failure for any modification, the regulator of a private non-life insurer.
to fulfil their duties. said.
It had recommended coverage of loss
Insurance intermediaries such as insur- However, the norms of sub-limits, of income, due to involuntary loss of
ance brokers, insurance web monthly and annual limits of the prod- employment, for a maximum of 6
aggregators, and corporate agent are uct would apply without any relax- months - with a limit of Rs 1 lakh per
required to take professional indem- ation.
month or 60 per cent of the last four
nity insurance policies governed by dif- This would mean that those who al- months' average income, whichever is
ferent regulations.
ready have health cover that covers lower. The proposed product also in-
The insurance regulator said that consultation, and those who buy health cluded life cover of Rs 5 lakh and per-
while the existing regulations clearly insurance in future, can include sonal accident cover, covering perma-
stipulate the indemnity limit, cover- telemedicine expenses in their claims. nent total disability of Rs 5 lakh.
age, excess, and retroactive date, it
has come across a number of instances Finance Ministry seeks IRDAI allows short-term
where the policies taken by interme-
diaries did not comply with regulatory regulators view on re- Covid policies
provisions. trenchment cover IRDAI has allowed health and general
insurers to offer short-term health in-
The panel has been asked to prepare The Central government has sought surance policies of three months to 11
a standard professional indemnity suggestions from IRDAI and General months that will give coverage against
policy "which covers all the contingen- Insurance Council on the feasibility of the Covid-19 disease.
cies and conditions (retroactive date, an insurance cover for dealing with
indemnity limits, excess, etc) men- retrenchment, according to sources. "Short-term policies may be issued for
tioned in the Regulations" that can be This comes in the wake of a large num- a minimum term of three months to a
issued by all insurers. ber of individuals losing their jobs due maximum term of eleven months. In
to Covid. between three months and eleven
IRDAI asks Insurers to in- In a recent letter to the Prime Minis- months, the policy term shall be in
multiples of completed months," it said
clude telemedicine in ter, Union Minister for Road, Trans- while issuing the guidelines. However,
port, and Highways Nitin Gadkari had a policy term less than three months
health policies
suggested the need for an insurance is not permitted. IRDAI asked the in-
IRDAI has asked insurers to allow product that gives subsistence salary surers to devise inclusive short-term
telemedicine consultation in the terms for a limited period of time in case of health insurance products "where
and conditions of the policy contract. job losses due to technological ad- waiting periods are part of the prod-

The Medical Council of India issued vancement, act of nature, or change uct, such waiting period shall not ex-
Telemedicine Practice Guidelines on in the economic structure. ceed 15 days".

The Insurance Times, July 2020 11