Court tells insurance major to pay minor's surgery bill

New India Assurance Company has been ordered by a consumer court to reimburse over Rs 45,000 towards knee surgery charges of the 11-year-old daughter of a claimant, who was refused the money on the ground that he had suppressed her medical history, reports Economic Times.

"There is nothing to show as per medical records of the complainant's daughter that she is suffering from any pre-existing disease," the District Consumer Forum (North) headed by President K K Chopra observed. More....

Insurance regulation's easier here than in China

India has an easier insurance regulatory climate compared with China, according to Heinz Dollberg, Allianz chief (Asia Pacific region). According to Dollberg, an insurance company needs approval from every province in China, compared with a single clearance from a national regulator — the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) in India, reports Economic Times. More....

Rangachary favours control system for health insurers

A proper control system is needed for insurance companies offering health cover, felt former Irda chairman and financial advisor to Andhra Pradesh government N Rangachary, reports Financial Express.

Participating in a seminar ‘Employee Retirement Benefits and Health Care: Ageing Asia Work Force Survey, 2006’ by Watson Wyatt World Wide here on Tuesday, he said that though there was no regulatory restriction on the age for insurance cover, insurance companies a middle-age persons coming under the cover. More....

Oriental Insurance told not to victimise the elderly

Reacting to the outrage over insurance companies’ bias against the middle-aged and elderly, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has put the state-owned Oriental Insurance Company on notice for discouraging the sale of medical insurance to those above 45, reports Economic Times. More....

New India Assurance Co.’s profit leapfrogs 78% to Rs 716.38 crore

Country’s largest general insurer, New India Assurance has posted a 78% increase in the profit after tax for the year 2005-06 to Rs 716.38 crore from the previous year’s Rs 402.23 crore, reports Financial Express.

The gross premium income through India operation for the year is worth Rs 4,791 crore as against Rs 4,210.81 crore in 2005-06 indicating a rise of 13.79%. On the global front the insurer has noticed a marginal fall in the gross premium to Rs 884.05 crore as against Rs 892.35 crore previous year. More....

New Management Information System (MIS) format for life insurers

The fiercely competitive world of life insurance will now see a new kind of battle. It will turn out to be a dog-eat-dog fight for `assets under management’ (AUM). Just like mutual funds, life insurance companies will now have to play their AUM game to hit the monthly league tables, reports Economic Times. More....

IRDA to monitor solvency of General Insurance Cos.

IRDA will monitor the solvency status of general insurance companies on a quarterly basis once the free pricing of insurance products is allowed from next year. Currently, Irda inspects the books of insurance companies only once a year.

Mr C.S. Rao, Chairman, Irda, said that after January 1, 2007, insurance companies will be competing on price as the terms of existing contracts would be maintained for about 15 months. "We will be monitoring the solvency of general insurance companies on a quarterly basis, rather than an annual basis," Mr Rao said. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Asian Life Insurance Summit. Around 70 per cent of the general insurance business such as fire and motor insurance are under tariff or a predetermined rate structure. More....

Oriental Insurance has no room for the aged

Public sector general insurer, Oriental Insurance Company Limited, has resorted to premium loading apart from reduced brokerage to discourage the sale of mediclaim policies to older people, reports Economic Times. More....

Non-life claims in Surat to be settled without survey

The insurance regulator has allowed non-life companies to settle claims in flood-hit Surat without a survey. This relaxation would apply only for claims upto Rs 50,000 till October `06. The bad news for the industry is that claims may add up to over Rs 2,000 crore, reports Economic Times. More....

Health insurance needs healthy money

There could be huge hikes in insurance premiums for individuals who are 45 year-old or above. General insurance companies of public sector are planning 15-20% increase in the premiums of health insurance policy. The increase in the premium will depend on the age of the person seeking the insurance cover. There is also some good news for the people who are less than 35-year-old, as the Oriental Insurance Company is slashing its prices by 25%. Insurance companies are not keen on picking up the medical bills for people aged 45 years or above. Since such claims are big in numbers, the companies want customers to share about 20% of the total expenses incurred on medical needs.

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Insurance companies not to revaluate insured vehicles

A consumer court has ruled that the insurance companies are not allowed to re-assess the market value of an insured vehicle, once a policy for a specific amount is issued against the requisite payment, reports Economic Times.

"Once an insurance policy for a specific amount is issued against the requisite payment, it is no more open to the insurance companies to re-open the issue as to the market value of the vehicle," Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) observed. More....

Insurers to have board-approved underwriting policy

Directors of non-life insurance companies will need to develop a thorough understanding of insurance. Boards will now need to approve the underwriting philosophy of a company that will define the extent of leeway that the management of each company will enjoy in quoting rates. The regulator has also placed restrictions on companies leveraging their balance sheets to offer terms for large risk-owners that are better than those offered by reinsurance companies, reports Economic Times. More....

IRDA panel on broker license review

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has constituted an expert committee to review the regulations governing the licensing of brokers. The committee will also give recommendations on strengthening brokers’ role, according to a notice from Irda, reports Business Standard. More....

General insurance companies on fire

The general insurance industry grew by 23% in the first quarter of this fiscal as private players continue their impressive performance with Reliance General emerging as the fastest growing company, reports Economic Times. More....

Surat's entrepreneurs out in the cold without insurance

Once the flood waters recede, many Surat-based businesses in the diamonds and textile sectors may face a second blow. A large number of small home-grown entrepreneurs may not have insurance cover, or may only have partially insured their premises and goods, reports Economic Times. More....

IRDA rejigs draft guidelines for non-life products

General insurers are saying no to group health insurance covers to employees of companies, which do not avail of property insurance from the same company, reports Business Standard. More....

Insurers pin rider to group health cover

General insurers are saying no to group health insurance covers to employees of companies, which do not avail of property insurance from the same company, reports Business Standard. More....

IRDA cracks the whip on general insurance companies

General insurance companies will have to answer to the regulator if they attempt to overcharge a consumer after their products are detariffed on January 1 next year, reports CNBC-TV18.

The insurance regulator IRDA has issued a new set guidelines specifying that insurers will need regulator approvals for thier new products. 75% of products in the market are currently tariffed. According to the new IRDA guidelines, health, auto and home insurance would be detariffed. More....

General insurance cos look for cover against frauds

General insurers are looking at the possibility of sharing data among themselves to control fraudulent claims. Additionally, they are trying to attain legal immunity from sharing information on fraudulent claims among themselves, as well as with other financial institutions, regulators, statutory agencies and departments, reports Economic Times. More....

Poaching hurts key private general insurance cos badly

Some of the leading domestic general insurance companies have been hit by the exit of officials holding key positions. Officials of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, HDFC Chubb General Insurance and Iffco Tokio General Insurance (ITGI) have been poached by other insurer and insurance broking companies. With many more new companies setting up insurance operations, there is now a strong demand for experienced professionals and there is always a high premium for them to join the new insurance players, reports Financial Express. More....

Motor cover is industry millstone: Standard and Poor's

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Monday said the underwriting performance of India’s non-life insurance industry will continue to be weak as the motor vehicles business continues to have a poor run, reports Business Standard. More....

Mediclaim after 55 gets dearer

If you are above 55 years of age and find insurance agents reluctant to sell mediclaim policy on your doorstep, you can address the problem by paying the commission that agents otherwise get from companies for mobilising business, reports Business Standard. More....

Over 45? Pay more for Health Insurance

Health insurance for above the age 45 could be a whole lot more expensive. The public sector general insurers plan to hike the premium health insurance policies by 15- 20% depending on the age of the policyholder. That means the older you are the higher the increase. More....

Record premium mobilisations help LIC regain lost ground

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC0) has regained all the market share that it had lost since November ’04 in a matter of three months reports Economic Times. The corporation’s share of the new business has shot up from 71.4% as on end-March ’06 to 78.5% on end-June ’06. More....

LIC’s new premium income skyrockets 245%

The innovation of Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) has acted as a boosting factor to increase the business of the insurance companies, atleast the state insurer can be confident of it. More....