IRDA RULING ON RENEWALS HELPS THE ELDERLY

The recent circulator from India’s Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA), capping renewal premiums at 75% above that paid in 2006, has come as “a breather for the elderly”, according to a report in India’s Economic Times . However, the report claimed that “despite this, senior citizens are being asked to cough up tariffs that were increased by 100% to 200% in 2007, a month after the implementation of this circular”. The report claimed that “officials from the four public sector insurers at branch levels or for that matter in regional offices are unaware of any such circular and are continuing to charge the existing hiked tariffs”. Public sector insurer New India Assurance told Economic Times that “we have not received any circular or directive from our head office. In the absence of any such intimation, we are charging the existing tariffs” National Insurance told the newspaper that “we are charging as per the latest revised chart”. IRDA chairman CS Rao reportedly claimed that a circular had been sent to every insurer and that they should have implemented it by January this year. “We have asked insurers to charge at most 75% more on the premiums they paid in 2006 for senior citizens. Not on the hefty premiums they already paid in 2007”.