Page 8 - The Insurance Times January 2022

IRDAI

News

IRDAI questions price hikes we do find it difficult to regulate the Highlighting one such concern, an in-
health ecosystem." dustry executive requesting anonymity
by reinsurers
Comparing it to having to operate with said: "The renewal of reinsurance
Concerned over pricing pressures in life Unique Identity Numbers (UIN) has
hands tied behind the back, she said that
and non-life products in the wake of there have been cases where patients been stuck for several weeks now in the
Covid, the Insurance Regulatory and general insurance category. These are
were stuck as hospitals were refusing to
Development Authority of India (IRDAI) accept 'cashless treatment' where insur- routine clearances and delays are af-
has questioned global reinsurers on rate ers settle bills directly with insurance fecting the pricing of policies being of-
hikes at this juncture. The insurance companies. "We had to step in and ask fered to brokers and customers alike."
regulator has also asked the govern- the state governments in such cases,"
ment for health regulations or some she said. "There should be a regulator Hospitals needs to be
power to regulate hospitals as it is not for the health sector, or we should be regulated
possible to control health insurance allowed to regulate," she said. Insurance regulator IRDAI wants hos-
costs without control over hospitals.
pitals to be regulated and is not averse
The pandemic is making both life and 'Delay in appointing IRDAI to even doing it by itself if allowed by
health insurance more expensive. Life chairman unwarranted law, a top official said.
insurers have been complaining about "We wish that there is a regulator or
back-to-back rate hikes by international An over three month delay by the cen- we are allowed to regulate hospitals,"
reinsurance companies like Munich Re, tre to appoint the new IRDAI chairman said T L Alamelu while virtually address-
which control the prices of term insur- following the retirement of former chair- ing the Insurance and Pensions Summit.
ance. Non-life insurance companies man Subhash Khuntia on May 6, is im-
have seen hospitals increase their bill- peding regulatory progress and causing This stance comes on the heels of cap-
business disruptions for India's insurance tains of the general insurance industry
ing and reject cashless treatment, a sector amid the coronavirus pandemic, pitching for a separate regulator for
mode where insurance companies have
according to industry stakeholders. hospitals. Recently Tapen Singhel, who
more control over pricing.
Insiders claim that the backlog of cru- is MD&CEO of Bajaj Allianz General In-
Speaking at an insurance summit IRDAI surance Company and Chairman of CII
cial policy considerations as well as rou-
member (non-life) T L Alamelu said that, National Committee on Insurance and
tine clearances are getting delayed
during the pandemic, the health insur- even as companies themselves are suf- Pensions, had said that concerns over
ance industry has settled 27.5 lakh fering from a possible lack of regulatory rising health insurance premiums dur-
claims for Rs 25,000 crore, while the ing the pandemic could only be ad-
oversight. These concerns have been
life industry has settled death claims of dressed by setting up a regulator for
further exacerbated as the country's
nearly 1.7 lakh amounting to Rs 14,000 life and health insurance sector have hospitals and a revision in GST rate from
crore as claims. Alamelu said that un- taken massive hits on finances in the 18 per cent to 5 per cent.
like insurers, hospitals can keep increas- June quarter owing to the devastating Krishnan Ramachandran, Co-Chair, CII
ing tariffs. "As an insurance regulator, second wave of infections. National Committee on Insurance and

8 The Insurance Times, January 2022