Online gaming firm Gameskraft on Thursday said it is laying off 120 employees as it navigates new regulatory landscape post the passage of the Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
Banks offer a wide range of group insurance plans -- personal accident, health, hospital cash, home insurance, credit protection, and critical illness.
Health insurance premium growth has slowed after touching record highs during the Covid-19 pandemic due to tapering demand from retail consumers amid affordability issues. According to General Insurance Council data, health insurance premiums grew by 10.44 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the Apr-Jan period of FY25 in comparison with 20.79 per cent in the year-ago period. It was around 23.57 per cent in FY23, and 25.89 per cent in FY22.
Detariffing in the non-life insurance market may well be the beginning of the end of cross-subsidisation and low premiums in group health insurance, with insurers now looking at pricing all their products individually.
'It is difficult to write business internationally, without an 'A-' rating. It becomes more expensive.'
Corporate India has paid 50 per cent (around Rs 600 crore) more on group health insurance this year. The premium paid on this account last year was Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion).
While insurance companies are yet to finalise the premiums, there are chances that group health premiums could see an increase.
'We want to play the value game for our consumers, which is health and retail will grow faster for us than the group.'
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company reported financial improvement and optimistic commentary in Q4FY24. It reported 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in Gross Written Premium (GWP) and 115 bps improvement in the Combined Ratio (COR) in FY24, and improved COR guidance with COR going from 104.5 per cent in FY23 to 103.3 per cent in FY24, 102.4 per cent in FY25 and 102.0 per cent in FY26.
'Try to buy a policy with a lower sum assured or one with a deductible.' 'Those whose spouses work for companies must get themselves enrolled into the employer's group health cover.' 'Some public sector banks also offer group health covers to those who open a savings account with them.'
General insurance companies are likely to see a surge in demand for health insurance in the coming months due to falling air quality in the country. The health insurance segment has registered a strong growth after the pandemic due to higher awareness. In the first half of financial year 2023-24, the segment grew by 24.4 per cent to Rs 54,713.52 crore from Rs 43,981.54 crore in H1FY23, driving growth of the non-life insurance industry.
Sanil Basutkar, Co-founder, HealthySure, lists the benefits of availing a group health insurance policy.
'Pandemic has triggered interest and awareness among the people about the need for healthcare.'
Insurance industry sources said one of the largest telecom service providers paid Rs 20 crore to insure its employees in 2009-10 against Rs 9 crore last year.
Core retail segments like motor and health continue to report strong growth of 19-20 per cent with competitive intensity still visible in the motor OD (owner driven) segment. Commercial lines reported muted growth. Group health remains a key driver. Among the listed companies, ICICI Lombard continues to trail in the motor section while Star Health has lost its Y-o-Y retail market share although its better on a sequential basis.
Health premiums have picked up again after a slight moderation in growth, taking the non-life insurance industry's growth to 22 per cent in November, and to almost 17 per cent so far this financial year. Health premiums grew by 22.54 per cent in the April-November period, driven largely by group health plans, which have seen good growth due to rationalisation of discounts in premiums caused by adverse claim ratios in prior periods, medical inflation, and enhanced coverage. Health premiums grew by 29 per cent in the same period last year.
Sanjib Jha, CEO, Coverfox Insurance Broking, answers your health and auto insurance related queries.
Bundled products often come with restrictions. The customer also gets locked into two products at the same time. This reduces flexibility.
The non-life insurance industry has received over 1 million Covid-related claims in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1FY22), higher than in the entire FY21, indicating the severity of the second wave of the pandemic. According to the General Insurance Council data, which is not publicly available, non-life insurers have received 1.22 million Covid-related claims so far in FY22 and have settled 944,573 of those worth Rs 9,178 crore. In comparison, they had received 986,366 Covid claims in FY21 and settled 849,034.
Delhi, which has been one of the worst affected states, accounted for less than two per cent of total vaccinations in the 18-44 age-group.
The expected interest rate hike in the US and the resultant volatility in the domestic secondary market could play a dampener to the over Rs 2-trillion initial public offering (IPO) pipeline in 2022. IPOs in 2022 look promising, with as many as 35 companies holding the Securities and Exchange Board of India's approval to raise roughly Rs 50,000 crore. Another 33 companies are waiting for the regulator's nod to raise around Rs 60,000 crore next year.
Spain's Paula Badosa, the women's world number 67, was the only player to contract the coronavirus. She was released from hotel quarantine on Wednesday.
Those who have crossed 50 must show the greatest urgency. They need to achieve a corpus that can sustain them and their spouses for at least 25-30 years after retirement.
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.
The insurance companies will use "green, orange, and red" colours to indicate the complexity of the products that are on offer.
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.
In view of the unprecedented and peculiar circumstances under which vaccination drive is devised as an executive policy, the "wisdom of the executive should be trusted", it said.
'Children should include their parents in the group health insurance cover provided by the employer at the earliest.' 'However, the elderly should not depend on it alone and should also buy a personal health cover,' suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
For vaccination, online registration is mandatory. Thereafter, eligible beneficiaries will be informed on their registered mobile number about the nearest vaccination facility, and the date and time of vaccination.
The ministry further stated that it was advisable to receive a complete schedule of the anti-coronavirus vaccine irrespective of past history of infection with COVID-19 as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease.
Vaccine development is a long process to ensure safety and efficacy through different stages and involves regulatory supervision every step of the way. Ruchika Chitravanshi takes you through this carefully drawn journey of vaccine development.
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.
There are four important reasons why you must also buy personal mediclaim over group mediclaim, says Dhruv Sarin
Move follows pressure from insurers, who say they are losing on these payments.
Domestic violence is not just limited to women, it can happen to men as well, according to Group Health research. Read on to learn more.
'In our country, there is a lot of checks and balances, the figures cannot go wrong.' 'Because they are being checked by not only the governments, but by doctors themselves.'
Group policies are more suitable for diabetics; these are negotiable & flexible.
A number of insurers offer health policies designed especially for senior citizens.
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.
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, went missing with the 25-year-old after soccer practice on June 23 after they set out to explore the Tham Luang cave complex in a forest park near by the border with Myanmar.
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