IRDA standardization to benefit health cover buyers

Mumbai: In a move that will reduce disputes and enable customer make better choices, the insurance regulator has decided to standardize definitions, forms and processes in health insurance. 

    According to a circular issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), "all insurers hospitals" will mean medical institutions with at least 10 in-patient beds, "all policies" will mean the same thing when they talk about covering critical illness and healthcare providers can follow the same procedure when dealing with 23 companies. The circular comes at a time when IRDA is under pressure to resolve difference among hospitals and insurers following a public interest litigation which has sought court intervention on cashless claim settlement. 
    According to Shreeraj Deshpande, head of health insurance at Future Generali Insurance, the move toward standardization would reduce disputes with insurance companies, improve turnaround time in settling cashless claims and will make it easier for customers to compare products. 
    "This will address structural issues in the industry such as the lack of trust between hospitals and insures. It will reduce mis-selling by agents who try to arbitrage between different definitions of the same cover," said Sanjay Datta, head, underwriting and claims at ICICI Lombard.