INDIA: Senior citizens get 30 health cover products

. NEW DELHI, India / The Hindustan Times / Utility Bytes / July 12, 2009 By Falaknaaz Syed, Hindustan Times Senior citizens now have a reason to smile. Close on the heels of the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) asking insurance companies to relax the entry age for senior citizens up to 65 years, 30 products have been launched by insurance companies in the last few months, informed J Hari Narayan, chairman, IRDA at the FICCI Health Insurance Conference. “We now have 6 specific products for senior citizens. After the IRDA issued the circular, 30 recent health insurance products have been launched (in the last few months), which allow a higher entry age for senior citizens at 65 years,” he said. “Overall 3.5 per cent of the total health insurance policies are from senior citizens that is the age group between 60 and 70 years, while their share in total claims is 10 per cent. On the other hand, 30 per cent of the policies are between the age group of 26 and 48 years while the claims are low.” “Today, 30 per cent of the claims are rejected for simple reasons. Of this, 90 per cent of the claims are rejected on grounds that the diseases are pre-existing diseases. Somehow, the communication between the agent and the policyholder must improve. Buyers of health insurance should disclose their pre-existing diseases so that the premium is adjusted accordingly and there is no issue when a claim arises,” added the IRDA Chairman. [rc] Copyright © 2009 HT Media Limited.