Get ready to pay more for your health or motor insurance covers if you have made a claim in the past.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has proposed a new set of rules, effective from March 2014, giving general insurers the leeway to charge differential prices for motor and health plans, based on individual claims experiences. So, if you have made a claim, you end up paying more.
Pricing is a function of product feature and the risk perceived by insurers after taking into various factors. Differential pricing will benefit customers as there will be a wide difference between policyholders who made claims and who didn’t, said Sampath Kumar, chief financial officer, Bharti Axa General Insurance.
On the other hand, at least theoretically, you could be paying less if there is no claim against your name.
The IRDA has also proposed that insurers to set aside more capital for policies where the risk is higher mainly those offering guaranteed returns.
In an exposure draft put out recently, it said it has decided to move from the current factor-based pricing regime to one based on solvency. Accordingly, life insurance policies offering guaranteed returns will require higher solvency margins, or more capital, to be set aside. This will push up premiums for traditional products, said a senior actuary.
However, unit-linked policies will be less expensive as insurers need to set aside less capital against them.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_claimed-insurance-health-motor-covers-will-sting-you_1797620
