E-insurance account
With the introduction of e-insurance account, policyholders can now manage their policies online. Policyholders open such accounts with the help of insurance repositories who helps policy holders to buy and keep their insurance policies in electronic form. Simply put, insurance repositories hold electronic records of insurance policies issued to policy holders.
E-insurance a/c allows policyholders to merge all policies like health, motor, life insurance etc. in a single account. As of now, policy holders can only merge their life insurance policies in their e-insurance account. IRDAI had earlier said, “Both new and existing life, annuities, health and general insurance policies can all be credited to this account. However, during the initial phase, the life insurance policies would be credited to this account. The general insurance and group insurance policies would be credited subsequently.”
Ramanan S V, CEO, CAMS Insurance Repository Services told Cafemutual that only non-life policies like health and general insurance policies having a minimum premium of Rs. 10,000 can be credited to e-insurance account currently.
IRDA has granted IR licenses to five entities - NSDL Database Management, Central Insurance Repository, SHCIL Projects, Karvy Insurance Repository and CAMS Repository Services to offer IR services in India.
Advantages of e-insurance account
This service is expected to provide convenience and transparency, thereby reducing cost, paper work and risk of loss of documents.
Here are the four key benefits of having an e-insurance account.:
- It will reduce the cost of issuing and maintaining insurance policies
- Policyholders can modify or revise insurance policies with speed, accuracy and track them easily
- Paperwork will reduce. Since the repository is the single point of service, updating details like change of address or nomination becomes easier, faster and more reliable.
- It helps increase efficiency and transparency
Fee
Policyholders can open their e-insurance accounts free of cost.
Such accounts are cheaper alternative to physical policies. Ramanan says that the cost of onboarding clients through e-insurance account is one-fourth of the cost through physical route.
What to do when you buy a new policy?
If you have an e-insurance account, buying a new policy in the electronic form becomes easier. Just quote your account number in the application and opt for a policy in electronic form.
Since the KYC documents would be already verified, the insurance firm won't have to repeat the process. The policy will reflect in your account after it is issued.
Policyholders can also make changes in their account details through this facility. For instance, policyholders can change their address or contact details online and the repository executes it after verification and intimates it to the insurance company.
If the change is at the policy level (nomination, sum assured or account details), the repository will forward the request to the insurance company.