Corona Kavach health insurance policy evokes good response: Insurers

Corona Kavach, which was launched on July 10 and is being offered by both general and health insurers, is a standard health insurance policy created to meet the treatment requirements for coronavirus.

Amid spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country, Corona Kavach health insurance policy has evoked good response within days of its launch by almost all insurers.
Corona Kavach, which was launched on July 10 and is being offered by both general and health insurers, is a standard health insurance policy created to meet the treatment requirements for coronavirus.

The term of the policy ranges from three-and-a-half months to nine-and-a-half months, with maximum insured amount at Rs 5 lakh.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has given a green signal to all general and health insurers to launch Corona Kavach policy to cover medical expenses of the Covid-19 positive patients.

"The response has been tremendous as people are quite eager to buy these plans. Since these plans have gone live on the PolicyBazaar's website, the company has been selling 300-500 policies per day," said Amut Chhabra, Head-Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com.

Most customers buying these plans are young individuals, he said, adding that "the policies are very much affordable like Rs 208 monthly, which is a fairly cheap amount." Observing that the response to the Corona Kavach is from across the country, he said, the policy is "following the same trend as the corona situation right now in the country with people from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi NCR showing massive interest in the newly launched plans".

Subramanyam Brahmajosyula, Head, Underwriting and Reinsurance, SBI General Insurance Company, said the provision to cover other members of the immediate family under the family floater option and home care treatment expenses are some of the features which are generating considerable interest.

Paytm, CEO Sharma to acquire general insurer Raheja QBE for Rs 568 crore

Raheja QBE will be acquired through QorQl Pvt. Ltd, a technology company in which Vijay Shekhar Sharma has majority shareholding.

Paytm and its CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma will acquire Raheja QBE, a Mumbai-based private sector general insurer, for nearly Rs 290 crore to expand the digital payments company's financial services.

Raheja QBE, which started operations in 2009, is a joint venture between Prism Johnson Limited and QBE Insurance Group, one of Australia’s largest insurers. Raheja QBE employees would continue working in Mumbai and other places, said the company.

According to regulatory filings made by Prism Johnson, Raheja QBE will be sold "to QORQL Private Limited, a technology company with majority shareholding of Vijay Shekhar Sharma and remaining held by Paytm (owned by One97 Communications Limited), for an aggregate consideration of Rs. 289.68 Crores".

One97 is the parent company of Paytm. The acquisition is expected to close by March 31, 2021, depending on approvals from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

"It is an important milestone in Paytm’s financial services journey, and we are very excited to welcome Raheja QBE General Insurance into the Paytm family. Its strong management team will help us accelerate our journey of taking insurance to the large population of India with the aim to create a tech-driven, multi-channel general insurance company with innovative and affordable insurance products,” said Paytm president Amit Nayyar.

Quick approval, grace period: Medical insurance process eased amid Covid-19

Use instalments to increase cover; benefit from quick approvals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought home the significance of health and life insurance like nothing else earlier. Even those who were blasé about these covers in the past are now looking to buy a new policy or want to enhance the sum insured on their existing ones. Meanwhile, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been issuing a slew of guidelines to health/general and life insurance companies aimed at easing matters for customers.

MEDICAL INSURANCE:

Pay health insurance premiums in instalments: Through a circular dated April 20, 2020, the regulator has permitted companies offering health insurance to allow customers to pay their premiums in instalments. With many customers expected to face financial hardships amid the lockdown, this step will ease customers’ burden. “It is an attempt to provide an affordable option to customers, and encourage more people to buy health insurance," says Prasun Sikdar, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), ManipalCigna Health Insurance.

Some insurers will charge the same premium under all options. “The premium amount will remain the same irrespective of the mode of payment," says S. Prakash, managing director, Star Health and Allied Insurance. Brokers, however, inform that some companies may charge you an extra amount if you go for any option other than annual.

The burden of paying the premium does get eased in a frequent-payment option. “In some COVID-19 cases, treatment costs have gone as high as Rs 14-15 lakh due to accompanying complications. If the sum insured on your family floater is not adequate, use the monthly payment option to enhance your cover,” suggests Amit Chhabra, business head, health insurance, Policybazaar.com.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget goal: Lower rates, simple structure

The FM disagreed with experts who termed the new tax regime complex and unavailing saying it would benefit some taxpayers, if not all.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the new tax regime proposed in her second Budget would ultimately lead to lower rates with simple structure.

Dismissing criticism that the new regime would not be largely beneficial to the assessees, she said, “eventually this should lead to a system where people are taxed at the lowest possible rate and are given a simple system. I am starting a scheme, which will eventually end there. For this, I’m not forcing people.” She was speaking to the media in an informal interaction a day after presenting the Union Budget in Parliament.

The FM disagreed with experts who termed the new tax regime complex and unavailing. She said the new scheme would benefit some taxpayers falling in certain brackets, if not all.

“…because the income tax cuts are deeper in the new scheme, we believe a taxpayer from a particular income bracket will be much better off coming into the new system. And in the new system, which however much I repeatedly say has no exemptions, there are some exemptions that we have allowed,” Sitharaman said.

Industry experts, however, argued that two tax regimes with optionality for personal tax, as in case of corporate taxes, only make the structure more complicated. Analysts sent out data to explain how the new tax regime would not be beneficial for those who take exemptions.

But the minister said, “I believe many of the calculations have probably not taken into account the exemptions which have been allowed in the scheme.”

Budget 2020

UK firm Skyline to launch weather insurance for Indian farmers by next year

The company's technology-powered weather insurance offering targets the global protection gap and recently secured funding to grow its business from innovation hub OneAdvent.

London-headquartered insurance technology company Skyline Partners has announced plans to launch its inaugural weather insurance product to provide protection to farmers in India by next year.

The company's founders, Gethin Jones and Laurent Sabatié, have spent the last year developing the technology-enabled insurance solution targeted at the underinsured markets of the world and believe their product will provide affordable protection for India's farmers.

"Our vision is to provide commercially viable and affordable insurance to the world's underserved markets,” said Jones and Sabatié, who were part of a fintech delegation led by the Lord Mayor of London to India last week.

"We are humbled to be part of this business delegation in India with the Lord Mayor of London. His business of trust is an inspiration and it is an honour to join efforts for a strong UK and India collaboration," they said.

The company's technology-powered weather insurance offering targets the global protection gap and recently secured funding to grow its business from innovation hub OneAdvent.

"Skyline Partners' unique technological offering is unprecedented in this space and will undoubtedly be a game changer in an industry that is at a crossroads. We are excited that both our investment and platform will provide them with the tools they need to break into the market,” said OneAdvent CEO David Hill.

Lord Mayor of London Charles Bowman added: "During the course of our visit to India there was lots of interest in their offer, and I look forward to hearing about the company's future successes as a result of our trip."

Business Standard