Insurance alert! You will soon get health-linked premium policies; pay less if you are fit

IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) has directed insurance companies to introduce health-linked premium policy so that those who have a better health condition get rewarded. The step will help insurance companies as well as they will be charging more from those policyholders whose health is not good. According to the tax and investment experts, this move is a win-win for both policyholders and the insurance companies.

Speaking on the IRDAI's directives on the health-linked insurance premiums, Amitabh Jain, Head — Underwriting & Claim at ICICI Lombard General Insurance said, "From now on, your health status will have a role in deciding the premium of your health policy. So, if someone is having good health but has taken a health insurance policy, then he or she will be rewarded by the insurer by charging a lower health insurance premium. This step will make people aware of staying fit to save money through lower health insurance premiums."

See Zee Business Live TV streaming below:
 

On how do the insurance companies calculate health status and the insurance premium, Jain said, "The insurance companies have developed app-based technology that can calculate one's health on the basis of health points. If you have a better score then you will have to pay less as every score will be linked to the insurance premium."  

Jain went on to add that from now on, there will be specialised health insurance policies that are designed for patients facing diabetes and Cholesterol related problems. For them, insurance companies have been directed by the IRDAI to come with new health insurance products.

Hailing the IRDAI move, Amit Chabra, Head — Health at Policy Baazar said, "Due to high insurance premium on health policies, people avoid taking health plan when they have high health score. But, they don't know that health insurance is for those times also when one's health score will go down and at that time, they won't be able to buy health insurance and avail insurance benefits. So, this IRDAI decision will attract millennials towards health insurance in the early phase of one's life that will fuel the number of health policies being sold by insurance companies."