Irda likely to submit report on TPAs in 15 days

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) Committee, which was evaluating the performance of third-party administrators (TPAs) in the health services sector, is likely to submit its recommendations within the next 15 days.

The report would deal with the need to bring in regulatory changes for TPAs, in keeping with the recent changes in the health sector, said G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, United India Insurance, on the sidelines of an industry body meet in Kolkata on Thursday, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

This apart, the four public sector general insurance companies — National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental insurance and United India Insurance — were in the process of appointing a consultant for the formation of a single TPA to serve the four companies, he said.

 

Also, the General Insurance Council (GIC) would recommend Irda to regulate hospitalisation charges as in the absence of uniformity in charges, the health portfolio was not profitable for many general insurance companies, he said.

Terrorism cover
There was a need for more public-private participation for terrorism insurance, as the Indian Market Terrorism Risk Insurance Pool (IMTRIP) was not sufficient to cover the increasing incidences of terror attacks, said Srinivasan.

He said that the loss of property after the terror attack in Mumbai has been evaluated at Rs 500 crore, the largest ever insured loss due to terrorism in India.

After the attacks, the premium rates have risen 30 per cent, he said. The maximum limit of liability for insurance of terrorism risk under the pool is currently Rs 750 crore, per location, under all policies.

The government should make terrorism insurance cover compulsory for corporates, and there should be automatic inclusion of terrorism cover in fire policies for some additional premium, he said.