Irda mulls unique identity numbers for hospitals
BS REPORTER
Mumbai, 25 November
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority ( Irda), through
the Insurance Information Bureau ( IIB), has begun an initiative to
provide unique identity numbers for hospitals.
This, Irda Chairman T S Vijayan said, would help the authority
identify hospitals and collect information on the charges for
different procedures.
"IIB is collecting transactional data of all insurers. We are working
with hospitals of the national accreditation agencies on whether we
can uniquely identify hospitals. Unique identity numbers will be
integrated with the pin codes of the areas and the names of hospitals.
Substantial work is done. Once this is over, the next step would be to
see what are the charges for different treatments by these hospitals
as far as claims are concerned," said Vijayan, on the sidelines of a
summit by the Indian Merchants Chamber.
"We are collecting transactional data from health insurers.
We will then be able to know how much is charged for a particular
procedure, by one hospital versus another hospital." Insurers have
welcomed the move. Kaushal K Mishra, CEO, Tata- AIG General Insurance,
said this would enable both insurers and customers to know what were
the exact charges of a particular hospital for any procedure. IIB
officials said they had begun with 380,000 hospitals and zeroed in on
30,000. R Raghavan, CEO of IIB, explained the hospitals would be
identified by their pin code, title and address.
"This will enable the industry to have data on the list of hospitals
and the charges for different procedures.
If new hospitals join the system, they will be added to the list," he said.
The bureau has also begun to collect data from life insurance firms,
based on demographics and income.
Raghavan said easy access to insurance data has been enabled by V-
Seva, a facility for motor policyholders wherein one could send an SMS
of their vehicle registration number, which would be followed by
details of their insurance plan.
For full reports, visit www. business- standard. com
TS Vijayan, chairman, Irda
PHOTO: KAMLESH D PEDNEKAR
Travelling abroad? Get a comprehensive policy
Travelling abroad this December? Remember: The rupee depreciation has
not only increased the cost of travelling in the US and Europe, but
other costs, like insurance cover, have also become more expensive.
With the insurers seeking approval from the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority ( Irda) to increase their travel insurance
premiums, premiums would get more expensive.
Should you try to save on such costs? No. The comprehensive policy
offered by insurers covers a lot you may not require. Besides medical
cover, these have started giving hijack allowance and covering missed/
delay in flight, loss/ delay in baggage, emergency of hotel extension
and catastrophe.
The premium of HDFC ERGOs travel policy is ₹ 1,670 (for a 20- day
trip) for a sum of $ 5 lakh, of which $ 1,000 (limit) is allotted to
the loss of baggage and $ 3,000 towards hotel accommodation.
In comparison, a medical cover or basic travel policy will give $
250,000 and cost 50 per cent less at ₹ 800- 900, depending on the age,
a saving of ₹ 700- 800.
But, given the cost of travelling is high and the goods expensive, the
premium is a small cost. What works in their favour is the wider
coverage they offer.
Yashish Dahiya, chief executive, Policybazaar, says, "Loss of passport
and hotel accommodation benefits can be useful compared to benefits
like catastrophe and hijacks. However, its difficult to claim such
expenses as its involves lot of paperwork, like copies of original
documents and police reports." In case of loss of a passport, you will
have to give the police reports, and papers related to passport re-
issuance and visa fees paid.
There are many frill covers, as well. Says Divya Gandhi, head, general
insurance, and principal officer of Emkay Insurance Brokers, " There
are benefits over and above the medical cover with no commercial value
or any value for money." Comprehensive policies are limited in scope.
If the policyholder loses his checked- in baggage, he will not get the
entire sum of $ 1,000, but will only get the amount he had to spend
on, say, buying a set of new bag, clothes, medicine and other
necessary things. Krsihnamoorthy Rao, chief executive, Future General
India Insurance, says, " The policies are more expensive compared to
basic travel. The gap widens as the age of the policyholder
increases." Yes, comprehensive policies are more expensive, limited in
scope and involve a lot of papers. Despite all these, these make sense
in the absence of a better product. Don't
be penny wise, pound foolish. YOGINI JOGLEKAR
Though more expensive after ₹ depreciation, it still gives reasonable
cover against a lot of eventualities
>YOUR MONEY
--
CS A Rengarajan
9381011200
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