May 08, 2024, New Delhi: The recent move of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the insurance regulator, to help senior citizens and those with pre-morbid conditions is expected to make health insurance premiums go up by 10-15%, according to reports quoting experts. From 1 April 2024, IRDA has updated the definitions of the pre-existing condition and moratorium period (MP) in health insurance policies. While the waiting period for pre-existing disease (PED) coverage in health insurance policies has been reduced from four years to a compulsory three years, the moratorium period has been shortened from 96 to 60 months. Insurance companies enforce a "no look back" policy during this period.

The move comes at a time when consumers are struggling to get their health claims processed. Almost one-third or 1.6 lakh cases out of total 5.5 lakh pending consumer complaints received by the department of consumer affairs are of the insurance sector, participants at a roundtable on Consumers and the Insurance Sector, organised last year, were told. In the latest LocalCircles survey released last week, 43% citizens who filed a health insurance claim in the last three years explicitly indicated that they had difficulty in getting it processed. Complaints ranged from outright rejection to exclusions to deduction and most commonly, delays. The situation is so bad that in many cases, patients spend 8-12 hours on their last day after being ready for discharge to actually get discharged as they are waiting on the insurance claim to be processed. Doctors and hospitals owners are a frustrated lot as well as the patient is occupying a room which can be used to admit and treat another waiting patient.

With hundreds of health insurance policy holders raising concerns about rising health insurance premiums, LocalCircles through a new survey sought to understand how much their premiums have increased by in the last 12 months. The survey received over 11,000 responses from personal health insurance policy holders located in 324 districts of India. 67% respondents were men while 33% respondents were women. 39% of respondents were from tier 1 locations, 30% were from tier 2 locations while 31% were from tier 3, 4 and rural locations.

52% personal health insurance policy owners surveyed say their premium has increased by over 25% in the last 12 months

The survey asked owners of personal health insurance policies, “How much has your annual health insurance premium increased in the last 12 months?” Out of the 11,000 health insurance policy owners who responded, 52% indicated that their premium has increased by over 25% in the last 12 months. In fact, 21% of health insurance policy owners indicated that the increase in premium was 50% or more in the last 12 months while 31% indicated that it has risen by 25-50%. Of the remaining respondents, 31% indicated an increase of 10-25%; while 2% indicated 0-10% increase in premium rates; 15% denied any increase in premium as it “was same as last year”. In essence, 52% of health insurance policy owners surveyed say their premium has increased by over 25% in the last 12 months.

A comparative study with the survey results of 2022 shows that the personal health insurance policy owners who had seen an increase in their premium by over 25% has dipped from 62% in 2022 to 52% this year. 2022 was an year marked with heavy increases in health insurance premiums as many insurance companies were projecting another wave of COVID in 2022-23 and had increased premiums in anticipation.

In summary, personal health insurance policy holders are deeply concerned with a significant rise in premium in 2024 after already experiencing high double digit increases in the last 2 years. While on the premium front, the insurance companies want a hefty increase each year, the claims processing continues to be inefficient with 1 in 2 who files a health insurance claim struggling. It is time IRDAI steps in to rationalize the increase in premiums along with processing of claims so health insurance becomes citizen centric.

Health insurance: 52% policyholders say their yearly premium has gone up by over 25% in 12 monthsMay 07, 2024The survey by LocalCircles stated 52% health insurance policy owners said that their premium has increased by over 25% in the last 12 months. While 21% of health insurance policy owners indicated that the increase in premium was 50% or more in last one year.https://www.businesstoday.in/personal-finance/insurance/story/health-insurance-52-policyholders-say-their-yearly-premium-has-gone-up-by-over-25-in-12-months-428663-2024-05-07?utm_source=btweb_story_sharearticleBT

Health policy premium jumps by up to 50% in a year, ‘set to rise further’May 08, 2024The survey received over 11,000 responses from personal health insurance policy holders located in 324 districts of India. 67 per cent respondents were men while 33 per cent respondents were womehttps://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/health-policy-premium-jumps-by-up-to-50-in-a-year-set-to-rise-further-9314655/articleIE

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6 out of 10 consumers complain of insurance mis-selling, says surveyMay 17, 2024This practice leverages on the fear of missing out and discourages users from reading all the information available.https://indianexpress.com/article/insurance/6-out-of-10-consumers-complain-of-insurance-mis-selling-says-survey-9334013/articleIE

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Over 60 Per Cent Online Insurance Policy Buyers Report Subscription Trap, Difficulty In Cancelling PlanMay 17, 2024In the age of everything online, people are now highly vulnerable to falling for digital manipulations. A recent survey by Local Circles, a consumer engagement https://business.outlookindia.com/personal-finance/insurance/over-60-per-cent-online-insurance-policy-buyers-report-subscription-trap-difficulty-in-cancelling-planarticleOutlook