Policyholders will need to present Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation beginning on January 1, 2023, in order to purchase any type of insurance coverage. For the purchase of all new insurance policies, the Insurance Regulator and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made the KYC requirements obligatory. All forms of insurance, including life, general, and health insurance, are covered by the rule.
Sharing KYC documents was previously an option made while buying insurance. However, from today, the insurers will need to obtain KYC documentation from each of their separate clients.
Because insurers will have a thorough profile of consumers as a result of this new law, analysts anticipate that the claim procedure will likely become quicker and more frictionless.
The KYC details for insurance businesses may help to increase the precision of risk assessment and pricing as well as lower the likelihood of fraudulent claims.
In a second report, Irdai advised insurers to consider offering discounts to policyholders who have received three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine when it comes time to renew their general and health insurance policies.
According to the PTI news agency, the insurance regulator has requested that both life and non-life insurance companies resolve Covid-19-related claims as quickly as possible and cut down on paperwork.
The regulator further advised insurers to make sure empanelled hospitals are not permitted to accept deposits for Covid hospitalisation, noting that some hospitals have engaged in this practice during the first and second waves of the programme despite having a cashless policy.
The regulator requested the industry, add that data should be supplied in a specific manner so that there is no discrepancy, and that the insurers establish a war room for Covid-related support to all stakeholders for the worst-case situation.
On the other hand, the insurers requested that the regulator looks into standardising the treatment methodology in order to reduce the number of fraud cases.
Up until March 2022, insurance firms paid out more than 2.25 lakh Covid-related death claims, according to Irdai’s most recent annual report.