Last week, the insurance regulator instructed life insurance companies to extend the grace period for payment of renewal premium for residents of Kerala and flood affected districts of Karnataka. So policies that are due for renewal between 15 July and 30 September 2018 will get a grace period of 60 days instead of the usual 30 days for policies with annual and other premium payment mode and 15 days for monthly premium payment mode policies.
Since normal life has been severely affected and disrupted due to floods, policyholders are facing difficulties in timely payment of renewal premiums, said a circular by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai). “Coverage under such policies may get lapsed due to non-payment of renewal premiums,” it said.