Rakesh Kaul, chief business officer of SBI General Insurance, stated that the reduction of the four-year waiting period for pre-existing conditions in health insurance to three years, effective April 20,24, caused health insurance prices to increase.
The largest bank in the nation's non-life division stated that it has not yet determined how much of the higher costs would be borne by the policyholder. According to Kaul, the corporation has not decided whether to pass on the expense of the higher risk to the client, even though cutting the waiting period would result in a 10–20% rise in prices.
"Inflation in medicine is 7-8%. Our strategy is to wait three years before revisiting the rates rather than revising them annually," Kaul explained. According to Irdai's health insurance criteria, which go into effect in April 2024, insurers are not allowed to deny a claim on the grounds that the claim was made three years prior to the policy being issued.
Kaul asserts that the product's price will not meet consumer demand. "The market for health care is one of value rather than price. It is our capacity to produce goods and customize them for the market. Health insurance offers a great deal of room for customization, in contrast to car insurance, where the coverage is essentially set in stone," he remarked.
Every quarter, SBI General Insurance hopes to provide a ton of new offerings. A health plan called On the Anvil allows users to "drag and drop" DIY environmental policy covers to the plan. Additionally, the business is developing a super top-up health plan.
The company's current priority is growing its market share in individual health insurance. "We have set up a strategic business unit for handling health insurance underwriting and claims in Pune and are now servicing most of our individual claims in-house," Kaul stated. He continued by saying that SBI General has service-level agreements in place with the biggest network of private hospitals.
According to Kaul, the capacity to develop and tailor products for specific market niches depending on each distribution channel would be growth drivers. The new technological platform from the insurance has made this feasible. "We have put in place a partner engagement to Simba which empowers the distributor to customize products on their own"
