New rural cover scheme does away with health checks

PEOPLE living in rural parts of the country will soon be able to buy insurance cover without being subject to mandatory health checks, as is the norm for life insurance policies. The department of posts is set to launch an ambitious micro life insurance policy that will not require insurees to disclose their health condition or existing diseases at the time of buying the plan.      The proposed insurance scheme, meant for economically weaker sections and particularly women, will provide a risk cover up to Rs 25,000, said an official in the ministry of communications and information technology. The department aims to cover around one-tenth of Indians and become a major player in the domestic insurance sector by easing out the procedural formalities that precede the purchase of a life insurance policy.      While the new scheme has been designed to be customer-friendly, the postal department will put in place systems and processes to prevent fake claims. For instance, a claimant will have to file a death certificate issued by a government doctor on a deceased's cause of death before claiming the insurance amount, the official said. If the medical report says the insuree was suffering from an ailment that existed prior to the purchase of the policy, the postal department will have the option to reject the claim.      The policy premium will vary according to the age of the insuree and the tenure.      India Post expects to cover around 100 million Indians by the end of 2011 under the scheme. The move is part of India Post's initiative to expand its insurance services and ensure a strong presence in the sector, especially in rural parts of the country, the official added.      Since the launch of the rural postal life insurance scheme in 1995, 8 million lives and a sum of Rs 40,000 crore have been insured under various policies offered by India Post. The department also plans to tweak its investment norms for life insurance policies to pump in a part of daily collections in revenue-generating instruments, including stocks, a move that is likely to begin from October 1, 2009.      With a huge presence in the country through 1.55 lakh post offices, the postal department is slowly developing itself as a centre for offering diversified services such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, life insurance and financial solutions to its customers, apart from the mail delivery system.