IRDAI issues standard travel cover norms

Advises general, health insurers to launch the standard domestic travel cover from July 1

Insurance regulator IRDAI has unveiled a Standard Domestic Travel Insurance Product, to make it convenient for those unable to choose from the travel policies available now as well as to offer protection cover against unknown contingent events.

With its uniform features of coverage, the Bharat Yatra Suraksha seeks to make available the most common requirements of a passenger, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said. Issuing guidelines of the standard product, it also advised “all general and health insurers to endeavour to offer this product from July 1.”

There will be five plan variants of the product, which follows the standard covers IRDAI had come up with for term life insurance, health insurance as well as home insurance. The primary objective in all these standard covers is to make the wordings of the policy document simple and the coverage features, as well as the exclusions (or in other words, what is not covered), explained with little scope for any misinterpretation.

While trying to make it easy for customers, the regulator, however, left the pricing of such standard products to the insurers. It maintained this stance for the domestic travel insurance policy too.

Issuing guidelines for Bharat Yatra Suraksha, the regulator said Indian travel market is one of the biggest globally. Citing reports that said around 36% of Indian households undertake trips, for one purpose or other, both within and outside the country, IRDAI said “it is desired that all travels undertaken should be safe. There is a need to make every trip financially secure by providing suitable protection cover against unknown contingent events. Though, there are a number of travel insurance products available in India, each product is distinct and the insuring public may find it difficult to choose an appropriate product.”

This standard domestic travel insurance cover is allowed to be offered as a individual and group basis with the coverage based on indemnity and benefit basis. There will be no restrictions on minimum and maximum age of entry. However, the proposer need to be at least 18 years of age.

The policy will be issued on a per journey and trip basis and thus there will be no initial waiting period. It is not renewable. Among the major exclusions in the policy are pre-existing illness/disease/injury/condition; self-inflicted injury, attempted suicide; liability arising out of accidents from travel on two wheelers as also undertaken by insured person on own motor vehicle. It would also not be applicable to cover the liability resulting from a journey where the insured is driving the common carrier. In effect, the policy will cover the liability mentioned and arising during travel undertaken by public transport, be it road (cabs/buses), rail, air carrier or by ships.

Source: Read Full Article