Insurers want sops to start catastrophe pool

General insurers have urged the government to offer them some incentives for providing subsidised catastrophe cover to the poor under the proposed natural catastrophe pool.
Even though the policy will come at a cost for individuals, it is likely to be provided at a subsidised cost to the poor in particular and those below the poverty line in general.
A recent report by the insurance regulator IRDA and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), has suggested setting up a natural on catastrophe pool so that everyone can be covered at affordable rates.
The initiative came in the light of a number of natural disasters that hit the country in recent past such as J&K floods, the Hudhud cyclone and the recent earthquake that rocked Nepal and Bihar and UP.

"We have already suggested setting up a natural catastrophe pool to provide a catastrophe cover for every individual at an affordable cost. Now it is up to the government to finalise the scheme," New India Assurance chairman and managing director G Srinivasan said here today.
"We have also suggested that the government provide some kind of incentive for providing this cover to the poor at a subsidised cost," he added.

He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of Griha Suvidha Policy, a scheme which falls under the personal line of insurance which aims at providing protection to householders' contents against fire and allied perils.

The company is targeting all its 25 lakh policyholders for the policy and looking at collecting premium amounting to Rs 50 crore out of the policy by the fiscal-end.
"We have seen a lot of demand coming up for the policy after recent earthquake in Nepal and hence we have launched the product and we are hopeful of selling the policy to all our 25 lakh existing policyholders so as to collect premium of Rs 50 crore by the fiscal-end," Srinivasan said.