Page 15 - Insurance Times Janaury 2021

Regulated Pricing norms and the public health cannot be 660,000 mark, amounting to Rs
jeopardised till that time schedule," 9,989.89 crore as of December 11,
may have reduced Covid the report stated. 2020. The general insurers and

deaths The committee has recommended standalone health insurers have settled
The parliamentary standing that post-Covid clinics should be set up. more than 76.5 per cent of the claims
committee on health has asserted that "Even among people who recover, that have been intimated.
a sustainable pricing model could have complications are rampant and they According to the data compiled by
averted many Covid deaths in the are serious. So there should be regular General Insurance Council, the insurers
country as inadequate beds in and comprehensive follow up among have settled 508,334 claims amounting
government hospitals and absence of people," it suggested. to over Rs 4,800 crore. At the end of
specific guidelines for treatment amid July, only 81,000 Covid-19 claims were
Stating that the public had to undergo
rising cases resulted in private hospitals filed with insurers.
trauma and distress due to absence of
charging exorbitant fees.
a dedicated healthcare system, the That number doubled in a month's
Chairperson of the committee, Ram committee observed that the number time. By August-end, insurers had as
Gopal Yadav, submitted virtually the of government hospital beds in the many as 160,000 reported Covid-19
report on 'Outbreak of Pandemic country were not adequate to handle claims. By October-end, the reported
Covid-19 and its Management' to the increasing number of Covid and Covid claims had breached 475,000.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah non-Covid patients. And, by mid-November, the number of
Naidu, the first by any parliamentary Covid-19 claims had surpassed
Stressing on the need for better
panel on the government's handling of 576,000.
partnership between the government
the pandemic. Industry experts are of the opinion
and private hospitals in wake of the
Underlining that healthcare spending pandemic and shortage of state-run that the rate of growth of claims is not
in the country with a population of 1.3 healthcare facilities, the report said, as alarming as it was earlier, and has
billion is "abysmally low", the panel said "The committee is of the view that started tapering off since October.
the fragility of Indian health ecosystem arriving at a sustainable pricing model The average claim amount has also
posed a big hurdle in generating an to treat Covid patients could have come down significantly since the
effective response against the averted many deaths." The committee initial months of the pandemic, with an
pandemic. believes healthcare should move insurers receiving an average Covid-19
"The committee, therefore, strongly towards universal health coverage. claim of Rs 1.5 lakh, while the average
recommends the government to claim settled by the insurers is Rs
increase its investments in the public General insurers get Covid 94,556.
healthcare system and make consistent claims worth Rs. 10,000 The insurers are engaged in a dialogue
efforts to achieve the National Health with the hospitals on the issue of the
Policy targets of expenditure up to crore amount charged for Covid-19
2.5% of GDP within two years as the The number of Covid-19 claims received treatment, however, there is no
set time frame of year 2025 is far away by non-life insurers has surpassed the consensus as of now. T

LIC's online policy sales rise 128%, says MD

LIC has posted a 128% growth year-on-year in online sales of insurance policies during this fiscal up to October, and
settled maturity claims and survival benefits worth more than ?57,000 crore, said Managing Director, Raj Kumar. The
insurer has been resilient during COVID-19 times, reaching out to people, he added. Alternative payment channels
such as Google Pay and PhonePe witnessed 'a huge response' during the pandemic with more than 42% of the premium
being collected via the digital route, he said.
In all, 72% of the premium collections occurred outside of the traditional cash counters in offices. Thus, digital route
had gained popularity during the pandemic, he added. Till November, LIC recorded an investment income of more
than Rs. 1.49 lakh crore, registering a growth rate of 20%. It had booked Rs. 25,000 crore in profit via stock trading,
Mr. Kumar said in a statement.

The Insurance Times, January 2021 15