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15th – 21st August 2020 INSUNEWS Issue No. 2020/33 Weekly e-Newsletter QUOTE OF THE WEEK INSIDE THE ISSUE Insurance Industry 2 “If patience is worth anything, it Insurance Regulation 7 must endure to the end of time. And Life Insurance 10 a living faith will last in the midst of General Insurance 15 the blackest storm.“ Health Insurance 24 Motor Insurance 52 Mahatma Gandhi Crop Insurance 60 Survey 62 Pension 63 IRDAI Circular 65 Global News 66 INSURANCE TERM FOR THE WEEK Assignor Definition: A party or entity who transfers the rights of the contract they hold to another party (assignee) is called the assignor. Description: Assignor transfers the complete rights of ownership and benefits pertaining to the contract to the assignee. For instance, party A gives an absolute assignment to party B of an insurance policy of Rs 5 lakh. Here A becomes the assignor. Source INSURANCE INDUSTRY How to avoid falling prey to mis-selling of insurance policies – Financial Express – 19th August 2020 With the spread of the pandemic, more and more people have started opting for insurance, mostly health and life insurance. In India, quite a large number of insurance products are sold through brokers and agents. Even though some brokers and insurance agents may be well- intentioned, most are seen making fake promises to policyholders to get their way. Mostly, buyers with limited knowledge about insurance products, look up to these agents hoping to get help while choosing policies that are suitable for their needs and lifestyle. However, it’s often seen that some rogue agents take advantage of such buyers and misrepresent facts or even give a distorted picture of the features of the policy while selling an insurance policy. Hence, experts suggest buyers should be aware of such agents and the ways in which insurance can be mis-sold to them while buying a policy. Even without being misled by agents, there are ways through which policyholders have been misled and mis-sold insurance policies. Hence, policyholders should always ask questions, carefully read the proposal and final documents of the policy, and beware of fake promises made before signing off. Here are some of the common ways of mis-selling policies to customers: It’s a red sigh if the policy benefits are not explained clearly to you. Agents have to explain the policy benefits and features accurately to the buyer. Hence, if you are still unclear about them, and the agent has not explained to you the policy features and benefits properly, and refuses to explain further, know that there is something wrong. Keep in mind that you will be paying the premium for getting benefits, which should be explained in advance. There are agents who exaggerate, distort, and also state false promises to make their policy show attractive rates of returns to the buyer. Hence, experts say customers be aware of such fake promises. 2 Some brokers and insurance agents promise that insurance plans give better returns than bank fixed deposits and some other investment avenues. If you’re told similar things, then know that it may not be true. Industry experts say promising insurance plans giving better returns than bank FDs is one of the most common ways of selling insurance. Hence, do not fall for statements like – an insurance policy is a safer option and gives better returns than an FD. Also, keep in mind that insurance policies and savings/investments are entirely different instruments. They should not be mixed or compared. Another point where many buyers are mis-sold policies is premium payment. Agents not only exaggerate the benefits of the policy but also give misleading information on premiums. While buying a policy, commit to a premium amount that will be easily payable by you. Till the time a policyholder pays their premiums on time and for the full term of the policy, any insurer is liable to honor its side of promises made in the product. But if the policyholder has not paid the premium for the full term, the claim process changes. The insurers could also charge additional charges. The claim procedure has mostly to do with the health and accident insurance policies. Policyholders need to know from their agents while buying a policy, exactly under what all circumstances can the policyholder make a claim, what type of claim is payable, and what is not. While mis-selling agents give the impression to the policyholders that anything and everything is covered under an insurance policy, which is not true. All insurance policies have exceptions. Hence, it is better to find out under what circumstances or conditions will the claim not be payable. (The writer is Priyadarshini Maji.) TOP Source Centre allows 24 insurance companies to sell policy through Aadhaar - Zee News – 19th August 2020 The government on Wednesday (August 19) allowed 24 insurance companies to sell their policy after collecting Aadhaar card details of the buyers. The move is understood to aim at checking the laundering of funds into insurance firms and shell companies. The decision is likely to help these insurance companies to perform in real-time and do e- KYC. This would also reduce the cost of transaction. According to the notification, "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 11A of the Prevention of Money- laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003), the Central government on being satisfied that the reporting entities mentioned in the Table below comply with standards of privacy and security under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016 (18 of 2016) and it is necessary and expedient to do so, and after consultation with the Unique Identification Authority of India established under sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016." 3 "The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India hereby notifies the reporting entities specified in the Table below to undertake Aadhaar authentication service of the Unique Identification Authority of India under section 11A of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002," the notification added. The Insurance firms allowed to sell policy are: 1.Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited 2. Aviva Life Insurance Co. India Limited 3. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited 4. Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited 5. Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co Ltd 6. TATA AIA Life Insurance Co Ltd 7. TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited 8. United India Insurance Co Limited 9. Universal Sompo General Insurance Co Ltd 10. LIC of India 11. Magma HDI General Insurance Company Limited 12. Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited 13. National Insurance Company Limited 14. Navi General Insurance Limited (Formerly known as DHFL General Insurance Limited) 15. Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited 16. Reliance General Insurance Company Limited (RGICL) 17. Shriram General Insurance Company Limited 18. Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd. 19. Edelweiss General Insurance Company Limited 20. Go Digit General Insurance Limited 21. ICICI LOMBARD General Insurance Company Limited 22. IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Company Limited 23. Liberty General Insurance Limited 24. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd TOP Source Insurers set to offer transit cover for Covid-19 vaccine - Financial Chronicle – 17th August 2020 With more than 170 Covid19 vaccine candidates in the works globally, insurers and reinsurers are looking to offer transit cover for the vaccines to be transported from one country to other parts of the world. Insurance companies, which aim to provide comprehensive risk mitigation services to support the development, manufacturing and distribution of Covid- 19 vaccines, are likely to start writing business from October 1. Lloyd's, the world's specialist insurance and reinsurance leader, recently announced the creation and in-principle approval of its programme, Syndicate 1796, set up to insure the storage and transportation of Covid vaccines to the emerging economies. 4 Indian insurers are also keen to tap the evolving market for transportation of vaccines. Sanjay Datta, chief-underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard, said, "We are already providing marine cover for transportation of pharmaceutical products. However, when it comes to providing the end-to-end cover for transportation of Covid-19 vaccines, we are watching the ongoing developments in this regard. Accordingly, we will decide about the launch of such a product, as the government is making special arrangements for its transportation right from the laboratories to the end-consumers." Syndicate 1796 is developed by insurance technology firm Parsyl in tie-up with various partners, including vaccine alliance Gavi. The Syndicate forms the foundation of the new global health risk facility (GHRF) at Lloyd's. The GHRF will offer All Risk' cargo coverage for transit and storage risks on all global health products related to Covid-19 and any other infectious disease control programmes. The creation of a public-private syndicate to address a global health emergency is the first in Lloyd's history. It is expected that those eligible for coverage will include manufacturers, procurement agents, logistics companies, ministries of health and other public agencies. "This unique partnership is a real demonstration of the value and ingenuity the Lloyd's market can bring to help address a global health emergency," said John Neal, CEO, Lloyd's. (The writer is Madhusudan Sahoo.) TOP Source Mumbai’s share in Covid cover claims in maharashtra falls to 33 percent – The Times of India – 16th August 2020 Insurers say there are “early indications” that Mumbai may have reached its Covid-19 saturation point as more insurance claims are now coming in from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities of Maharashtra. In the first week of May, Mumbai accounted for 72 percent or 559 of the total 778 claims made in Maharashtra.