For the middle class, an immediate impact of GST would be the higher premium outgo due to the increase in rate of tax on insurance following implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. For families that own a car and pay for health and term insurance the increase in annual outgo would be close to Rs 1,000. "The immediate impact will be an increase in the tax from 15 percent to 18 percent which will have to be borne by customers,".

The country has witnessed a significant increase in health insurance coverage across population groups. A recent study by Brookings India, 'Health and Morbidity in India: Evidence and Policy Implications', indicates that in the decade from 2004 to 2014, the number of Indians insured through some mechanism increased from 55 million to over 350 million. The coverage went from one percent of the population to 15 percent in a decade. While universal health coverage through insurance remains some way down the road, the increased coverage is welcome. India accounts for some of the lowest health insurance coverage in the developing and low and middle-income countries cohort. This along with low health spends as a percentage of the gross domestic product has meant that over seven percent of the population is pushed to poverty on account of catastrophic healthcare expenditures. This is not only unpardonable but also wholly addressable.

The writer is general manager, Operation &Public Affairs, Indraprastha Hospitals

Car, motorcycle and health insurance premiums are set to cost more from April 1 with regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) giving its nod for revision in commission to agents. The change in premiums after modification will vary up to 5 percent either way. "There will be different slabs of hike in commission for different lines of insurance. The companies can modify the pricing of the product marginally. The company can take a call on this," said a top official of a public sector general insurer. The increase in premium will be in addition to the enhanced third party motor insurance rates that come into effect from the start of next fiscal. The Irdai (payment of commission or remuneration or reward to insurance agents and insurance intermediaries) Regulations, 2016 will be effective from April 1, 2017. The insurance regulator has said that the new regulations will bring about certain revisions in commission/remuneration rates and also introduce the reward system.

These may prompt insurers to revisit the pricing of their products, in so far as the costing input relating to commission or remuneration is concerned, it said. "The change in premium due to the new regulations should be limited to plus-minus 5 percent of the existing premium rates of products/add-ons", Irdai has said. SR Balachandher, company secretary and chief compliance officer of Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance, noted there would be no change in retail health, but the commission for employee group insurance would go up by 2.5 percent. "Retail property insurance will go up by 1.5 percent. Insurance firms are free to make modifications in the premium to accommodate the commission hike. But they will have to file the product with new pricing once again with the Irdai," Balachandher said. A senior official of a top private general insurance company, however, disagreed. "In retail health policies, commissions are part of the premium rates filed with the regulator. The regulator allowing insurers to change commissions to distributors by 5 percent does not mean that the premium rates will automatically increase for customers."

The financial year is drawing to a close, and if you are still scurrying about to save on taxes, here is the harsh truth: you have made a classic financial mistake. Tax planning needs to be incidental to financial planning and you need to adopt a proactive approach to both. For now, let's look at your options. Today, we shall focus on health insurance which qualifies for tax deduction under section 80D. Under section 80D, the premiums paid towards a health insurance policy for self or family can be claimed as a deduction of up to Rs 25,000. If you also pay premiums for your parents who are not senior citizens—less than 60 years of age—then you can claim an additional deduction of Rs 25,000. So the total deduction that you can claim is Rs 50,000, which translates into a tax saving of Rs 15,450. For senior citizens, the deduction limit is Rs 30,000. But if you are buying a health insurance policy for your parents who are senior citizens then you can claim a deduction up to Rs 55,000—Rs 25,000 for self and Rs 30,000 for parents. Keep in mind that this deduction limit includes expenses incurred towards preventive health check-ups to a maximum of Rs 5,000. "Premiums will qualify for tax deductions for the financial year in which the policy is issued. For young individuals who don't need medicals, a health insurance policy can be issued the same day of paying the premium. Even for individuals who require medicals, policy can be issued within 3-4 days," said Puneet Sahni, head, product development, SBI General Insurance.

When health insurance was developed initially, it was meant only to cover a person's hospitalisation and surgical expenses. It has since then evolved steadily in its effort to take care of all the health problems that customers may face. Surgical treatments of haemorrhoids, tonsil removal, cystoscopic removal of stones, and so on were not covered by traditional health insurance plans until a few years earlier, but are taken care of under day care benefit by most plans today. In some areas, such as OPD (out-patient department) cover, however, limitations remain.

Owing to growing risks from environmental hazards and lifestyle diseases, people are visiting hospitals frequently nowadays for smaller medical interventions, such as consultations for minor health issues, diagnostic tests, pre-emptive check-ups, etc. At least the one-fifth of Indians who have chosen to buy health insurance don't like to take a chance with their health, according to reports. However, these visits burn a hole in the pocket, especially of those who live in the big metros.

While day care treatments have now been integrated into most new health insurance offerings, OPD cover continues to be omitted by most flagship products. This is seen as a major irritant by the population that buys health insurance. Buyers believe that a health insurance policy should take care of every small cost they might incur on health. If they still have to pay for health issues, they become disgruntled.

The rising burden of OPD spending is making such a cover even more critical. In India, a whopping 60 per cent of health care spend is on OPD treatment. The lack of an efficient mechanism and absence of a closed network structure are the chief obstacles preventing insurers from introducing worthwhile and sustainable OPD products.

the US, which killed 734 people and caused $4,000 billion in insured losses. India's ranking, ahead of China floods and the Ecuador earthquake, was due to a string of incidents, including the deaths due to heatwaves in April (300), monsoon floods in August (151), a string of train derailements (150) and the Kerala temple festivities that resulted in a fireworks explosion (112). What was significant about India's ranking was that all the top four incidents catastrophes were uninsured. The report also mentions that smaller disasters like the drought in Tamil Nadu and cyclone "Vardah" reported insured losses. Again the insured losses were a fraction of the total damage. When it came to the severe water shortage in the south, the insured loss of $400 million was just 0.13 percent of total damage of $3 billion. Likewise of the $1 billion damage due to cyclone Vardah, which left 12 dead, only $52 million was in insured losses.

What would you call a regulation that is titled Protection of Policyholders' Interests, but is anti-consumer in its direction and intent? The draft regulation by the same name released by the insurance regulator on 1 February 2017 (you can read it here: bit.ly/2l9NpgI) has removed some basic consumer-first provisions that an earlier 2014 draft had suggested. As investors and consumers of financial products, we should worry about this. Over the past few years the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has made several moves that are glaringly anti-consumer: hiking agent commissions, legalising what were earlier illegal payments to agents (bit.ly/2nr4hja) and allowing insurers to sell policies that lapse, and making consumers lose their invested amounts (bit.ly/2omsXH0), stand out amongst many other actions of an anti-consumer regulator. This is in direct contrast to increasing worries by global regulators about the difficulty of consumer protection in retail finance and higher levels of accountability and hygiene

Monika Halan works in the area of consumer protection in finance. She is consulting editor Mint, consultant NIPFP, and on the board of FPSB India.

Even as 95 percent of women are aware of health and fitness, only 74 percent go for a checkup when they are unwell, according to a recent survey. However, when it comes to health insurance, women are on top of their game — 47 percent have medical insurance, 65 percent said they were fully aware of insurance, and 77 percent said they knew how to submit a claim, according to a ICICI Lombard survey – Women Health and Insurance. The survey was done among 1,500 housewives, self-employed and workingwomen in the 22-55 year age group from the four metro cities and Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Lucknow. It revealed that more women are taking their health and wellness seriously as 35 percent said they have not fallen ill in the last six months. Claims for top five women related ailments are decreasing year on year, it added. Further, the survey said, there is a change in behaviour towards health insurance amongst women, as 29 percent surveyed have bought a health insurance policy themselves, which was earlier majorly influenced by fathers and spouses.

The insurance regulator has asked companies to play an active role in the general meetings of investee companies and engage with the management at a greater level to improve governance so as to increase returns on investments for insurers. "Insurance companies are significant institutional investors in listed companies and the investments are held by them as custodians of policyholders," Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) stated in a circular. "Therefore, it is felt that insurance companies should play an active role in general meetings of investee companies and disclosures relating thereto." This will be applicable from next financial year. The regulator said the state of governance at the companies where insurance companies have invested is important. It has also laid out a set of principles, which insurers will have to adopt.

The principles are being uniformly adopted for institutional investors like mutual fund, pension funds, foreign portfolio investors and alternate investment funds. Irdai has also decided to implement a code of stewardship for insurers. The regulator said all insurers need to draw up a policy based on principles spelt out in stewardship code within six months from date of issue of these guidelines and the board of directors should approve the same. Globally, companies are required to say which are the companies they have voted for and against in general meetings and disclose their stance.