On 1 February, as the finance minister presented the budget for 2017 that gave marginal relief in income tax, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) put up draft regulations (http://bit.ly/2l9NpgI) for protection of policyholders’ interests. These regulations, which will replace the older regulations of 2002, are meant to protect the interests of the policyholders and to ensure they are treated fairly; at the time of sale, by making all the relevant disclosures; and at the time of making a claim by specifying the turnaround time for claims settlement.
The draft is an improvement over the current rules, specially in terms of claims settlement, but it falls short in terms of protecting policyholders’ interest at the point of sale. Read on to know why, but first start with the new turnaround time on claims settlement.
