India's health insurers to offer policy innovations
Indian insurance companies are readying soft launches of new products after being given the green light to pilot innovative types of policies by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. Such policies could include combi-plans, which are blends of health and life plans. Insurers could also team up with gyms and swimming pools to monitor customers' fitness levels and personalise cover accordingly.

Your insurance company may soon offer a product on trial to see if it works in the market. With the insurance regulator allowing general insurers and health insurers to bring out pilot products, companies are readying products for a soft launch. In July 2016, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) notified a set of revised health insurance regulations. This brought a change to several of the existing rules around health insurance sales, pricing and product structure, including sale of products. In the insurance journal brought out by IRDAI on health insurance, Chairman TS Vijayan said that general insurers or health insurers are permitted to offer pilot products to give scope for innovation. This meant that if an insurer plans a product that would, for instance, offer dynamic pricing based on how active a person is, they could launch it for a few months and test it with a few customers. If the response is positive, they will bring it to the mass market. Since IRDAI has asked insurers to encourage the wellness and preventive habits of the policyholders, it is anticipated that most of the pilot products would be a combination of features that encourage fitness and healthy behaviour. Health insurers, in particular, are looking to tie up with gymnasiums and swimming pools to identify if any of their customers visit these places on a regular basis. Based on the number of days of activity and number of hours that an individual works out on a weekly basis, customized insurance and better pricing will be offered. However, it is not clear what will happen to those policies brought by customers during the pilot period and whether they will be eligible to switch to other products if this product is withdrawn from the market. Further, health Insurers can offer combi-plans, which could be a hybrid of health and any life plan. Since these products have tasted limited success in the past, insurers will also look at testing the waters before making an official launch of the product. Smart cards will also be issued across the board which will be a permanent identity card for customers for cashless products. This could even be valid for lifetime and the concept will soon be piloted with a target audience group. “The Authority’s constant endeavor is to bring greater accountability of insurers internally, to encourage innovation in product design, to promote wellness habits among the policyholders, to create a policyholder-friendly environment and to bring about robust growth of the health Insurance sector,” said Vijayan.