KYC mandatory to buy health, auto and other insurance from January 1

 

• The rule applies to all types of insurance - life, general and health insurance

• Till now, sharing of KYC documents was a voluntary option at the time of purchasing the policy

From today, policyholders will have to provide Know Your Customer (KYC) documents for purchasing all insurance policies. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made KYC norms mandatory for purchase of all new insurance policies for health, auto, home etc. This rule applies to all types of insurance-- life, general and health insurance.

Till now, sharing of KYC documents was a voluntary option while purchasing the policy. However, from today onwards, insurers will have to collect KYC documents from their respective customers.

With this new rule, experts believe that the claim process could be faster and more seamless as insurers would have a wider profile of customers.

For insurance companies, KYC details can help improve the accuracy of risk assessment and pricing, and it can reduce the risk of fraudulent claims.

In a separate news, IRDA has asked insurers to consider giving a waiver on renewal of general and health insurance policies to policyholders who have taken three shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The insurance regulator has asked both life and non-life insurance companies to settle COVID-19 related claims at the earliest and reduce paper work, PTI news agency reported.

The regulator also urged insurers to ensure that empaneled hospitals are prohibited from taking deposits for Covid hospitalization, despite some hospitals having cashless policies for Covid treatment during the first and second wave. Involved in soliciting.

Insurers should create a war room for Covid-related assistance to all stakeholders for a worst-case scenario, the regulator told the industry, adding that data should be reported in a prescribed format so that there is no discrepancy.

Insurers, on the other hand, asked the regulator to look into standardization of treatment protocols so that fraud cases can be reduced.

In its latest annual report, Irdai said that till March 2022, over 2.25 lakh death claims due to Covid were settled by the insurance companies.