IRDA suggests insurance products in vernacular
10 Dec 2008
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is considering proposals to develop insurance products in vernacular languages in order to widen their reach.
''It is a suggestion. Languages of the products and mechanics of the whole thing evolve through a process of interaction between the regulatory body, counsel and individual companies,'' IRDA chairman J Hari Narayan said at a health insurance summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The IRDA chairman also stressed the importance of developing new and simple insurance products, where majority of the policy could be on the internet.
''In order to cover larger proportion of Indian population, it is requisite that we encourage the public private partnership mode,'' he said.
''Requiring the TPAs to build their IT systems and infrastructure for speedier claim processes; encouraging insurers to make their systems robust and embarking on wide consumer awareness programmes are the various measures undertaken by IRDA towards the growth of health insurance in India,'' he said.
Hari Narayan said in case policyholders are not getting good service from insurance companies, they can approach the ombudsmen in different parts of the country for redressal.
The second international conference on health insurance was held to deliberate on various issues affecting the healthcare insurance sector.
The CII Summit also saw the release of the CII-KPMG Report on `Health Insurance Inc.- The Road Ahead`. The report gives an outlook of the healthcare insurance industry with emphasis on the challenges and growth enablers.
