Page 9 - Insurance Times April 2021

coverage and policy wordings across IRDAI extends dispensation dispatch a hard copy of the document
the industry. even if a policy was solicited through
for physical signatures in life
Minimum entry age to buy such a an electronic mode.
covers
policy will be 18 years while the Given the COVID-19 outbreak and the
maximum age at entry at least 70 for IRDAI has recently issued a circular resultant lockdown to combat the
insured members, including the saying, "Life Insurers are allowed to virus, life insurers had expressed
principal insured. The standard PA obtain the customer's consent through difficulty in printing and dispatching
product will be offered on an individual electronic means, i.e., without policy documents. Insurers can now
basis, but when offered as a family requiring wet signature on the continue to send all life insurance
proposal form, for the business policies electronically to the
cover, the chosen sum insured will
solicited by Individual Agents and policyholder's e-mail ID till September
apply to each family member
Insurance Intermediaries, under all end of this year.
separately.
products, till 30th September 2021." Physical policies are not mandatory
IRDAI increases maximum The suitability assessment, benefit now if the insurer has obtained the
illustration (wherever applicable) and consent of the policyholder. However,
cover under Arogya the completed proposal form will have if a policyholder insists on a hard copy,

Sanjeevani Policy to Rs. 10 to be sent to the buyers either on their the companies have to issue it without
registered e-mail ID or phone number any charges.
lakh in the form of a message with a link.
With an objective to bring more people The message/mail will have to Insurers may soon be able
under the ambit of health insurance specifically highlight the sum assured, to launch covers without
IRDAI has recently hiked the maximum premium amount payable, policy term regulator nod
cover under the standard health and the premium payment term of the
insurance plan - Arogya Sanjeevani proposal being solicited while seeking IRDAI wants to move to a 'use and file'
Policy - from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh. the buyer's consent for the policy system where insurers can market
IRDAI has made it mandatory for proposal. products without first obtaining an
approval from the regulator, stated
insurers to offer a sum insured Once the buyer gives consent to the IRDAI Chairman Subhash C. Khuntia.
between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 10 lakh product offered, the benefit This is in contrast to the current 'file
under the Arogya Sanjeevani policy as illustration and the completed proposal and use' system where if an insurer
against the previous range of Rs. 1 to form needs to be affixed by a digital wishes to launch a new product, it has
Rs. 5 lakh. signature. One can also validate it by to file an application with IRDAI and
the One-Time-password (OTP) process.
In a regulator IRDAI stated, "In order can sell the product only after getting
to enhance the coverage available all the regulatory approvals.
IRDAI allows life insurers
under Arogya Sanjeevani Policy, in Subhash C. Khuntia said at the Virtual
partial modification of the extant to issue e-policies till 30 Actuarial Conclave 2021, "We have
guidelines, insurers shall mandatorily September already started this in some of the
offer the sum insured between Rs. segments and we would like to go
IRDAI has recently said that the life
50,000 to Rs. 10 lakh under the further. Unfortunately, this experiment
insurance companies can issue
standard product from 1 May, 2021, or electronic policies for six more months which we tried sometime back, we
earlier." till 30 September, 2021, in the wake of found that some of the 'use and file'
products did not live up to the
IRDAI is also taking a closer look at COVID-19 pandemic.
regulatory requirement. He also said
pricing and has asked insurance IRDAI in August had allowed insurers the number of actuaries in the country
companies to get an actuarial review to send all life insurance policies is abysmally low for a country of India's
of the viability of every health plan at electronically to the policyholder's e- size. He called for increasing the
the end of the year to ensure that all mail ID till the end of the financial year number of actuaries to at least 1,000-
health products are sustainable. 2020-21. Earlier, companies had to 1,200, from the current 458.

The Insurance Times, April 2021 9