The unprecedented rise in Covid-19 infections in the country, which many are terming as the second wave, has also resulted in a rise in Covid-related claims for general and health insurance companies as hospitalisations have gone up. The insurers have received more than a million Covid-related claims as of April, 2021. According to the data compiled by General Insurance Council, the reported claims total 1.014 million, amounting to more than Rs 14,800 crore.
'Companies will need to revisit compensation structures, contracts, staffing models, and human resources system.'
The finance ministry has asked state-run general insurers to increase premiums on health insurance, motor and other policies, and refrain from undercutting each other to get new business.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Pvt life insurers are planning to foray into health covers, with standalone health insurance policies.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Sanil Basutkar, Co-founder, HealthySure, lists the benefits of availing a group health insurance policy.
If the cashless request is denied, the entire cost may need to be paid for planned treatments.
State-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday posted a 38 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 19,013 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2025 helped by lower expenses. The country's biggest insurer had earned a profit of Rs 13,763 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
'I'm totally focussed on finding the right energies around me. A lot of the treatment is psychosomatic, as my mother keeps reiterating, if you think positive, positive things will happen to you.'
'I realised why the farmers and the rural folks are going for Trump. They are so insecure and vulnerable that anybody who is throwing a line of hope to them, they seize it.'
'Women weavers are hardworking, open to learning, resilient.' 'They finish their cooking, housework, puja, then they come to weave.' 'They care about design. They care about beauty.'
The resilience of the economy and strength of domestic demand will continue to make India an engine of growth amid the rapidly evolving global trade landscape as a result of US tariffs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in London on Tuesday.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
The Congress party has pledged to provide free LPG cylinders, ration kits, and electricity up to 300 units to Delhi residents if elected to power. The announcement was made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, along with AICC Delhi in-charge Qazi Nizamuddin and Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav. This is the latest in a series of promises made by the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Earlier, the party had promised a monthly monetary grant of Rs 2,500 to women, free health insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh, and Rs 8,500 every month to educated unemployed youths in Delhi for one year.
After completion of its mandatory tender offer in Fortis Healthcare and Fortis Malar Hospitals, Malaysian health care giant IHH Healthcare is aiming to add 2,000 beds in a bid to double down on value creation in India. IHH, which is Asia's largest multinational private healthcare provider, currently has over 5,000 beds across a combined network of 35 hospitals and 11 states.
Most customers still don't understand this concept and are unable to benefit from it.
If you want to inspire the young workforce, focus on building transparency, purpose and social responsibility, says notes Varun Sachdeva, SVP and APAC head, NLB Services.
The 25-35 age group is the most active online in buying non-life insurance products.
Typically, an individual buys a health cover between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.
Cardiac patients whose proposals for a regular health insurance plan get turned down should apply for a cardiac-specific plan.
While buying health policies, customers should reveal any pre-existing diseases. This is the only way to ensure that the insurer does not reject claims.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
All employees should supplement the employer-sponsored health cover with a personal cover.
'Understand your financial goals. Next, categorise them by size. Then evaluate your investment options.'
Mahavir Chopra explains the pitfalls one may face after buying a day care insurance policy
It is your duty to be responsible to your health and start saving and investing early in a suitable health insurance, says Naval Goel
Even by conservative assumptions that 5 to 10 per cent of infected individuals develop long Covid, India today may be home to 50 to 100 million infected individuals -- many silently coping with breathlessness, fatigue, palpitations, brain fog, or unexplained clotting tendencies.
The higher limit will be useful for senior citizens in particular
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Although India's private health insurance industry's business volumes have grown by over 35 per cent a year in the last few years, a staggering 85 per cent of the population remains uninsured, according to industry estimates.
Insurers say they will have to study the available data to work out by how much premiums will have to go up to be able to cover mental illnesses as well
In Debasish Panda's last board meeting as chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), the regulator approved the "R2" licence for Kamlesh Goyal and Prem Watsa-backed Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector Indian reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer. "The authority reviewed and approved the R2 application of Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer.
To add to the worry of the insurers, non-Covid claims, which were muted in the initial months of the pandemic, have also picked up pace and are more or less at pre-Covid levels.
Recalling or relabelling medicines already in the supply chain before September 22 will not be mandatory, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, issuing a fresh set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address industry concerns following the announcement of goods and services tax (GST) revisions.
Though COVID-19 will wreak more damage to the finances of the Indian population, the insurance sector is unlikely to get hurt.
In its master circular on general insurance products, which takes immediate effect, Irdai specified, 'The customer may be required to submit only those documents directly related to claim settlement.'
Then don't just sign the form and expect the insurance agent to do the rest. That can prove costly.
'Once the 60-plus population hits 20 to 30 per cent of the country, the demand for elderly-care treatments will surge -- cardiac, metabolic, neurological, and musculoskeletal medicines are going to dominate the market for the next several decades.'
Dr Sulbha Arora, clinical director and fertility specialist at Nova IVF Fertility, explains everything you need to know about egg freezing in India, including the process, the cost and the risks involved.
