IRDA has issued a circular deferring the product re-filing deadline of health insurance product (group) by three months i.e.from 1 July to 1 October. Now, the insurance companies can sell their existing health insurance products (group) till September 30.
Earlier, IRDA had issued a guideline in which it had standardized 46 commonly used terms and 11 critical illness terms of health insurance policies in order to bring uniformity in sales and claim settlement process. The insurance regulator has also put out a standard list of 199 excluded items in hospitalization indemnity policies. The guidelines were scheduled to be effective from 1st July 2013 for group products and 1st October 2013 for other products.
“In view of difficulties expressed by insurers with regard to the time-frame, keeping in view the interests of the policyholders who need to be intimated sufficiently in advance as stipulated under Regulation 17 (c), the Authority hereby defers the stipulated dated applicable for Group Products from 1st July, 2013 to 1st October, 2013. There is no deferment for Individual Products for which the date already stipulated in the Regulations is 1st October, 2013," said IRDA.
IRDA has asked insurance companies to submit the list of health insurance products as stipulated in health insurance regulation countersigned by the CEO. IRDA has also advised the insurers to ensure necessary compliance while re-filing for product approval so as to avoid cancellation.