Soon, you may get 30 days free look period in insurance. With this, you will be able to reject an insurance policy after reviewing it for up to 30 days. Moreover, you may not get a life insurance without declaring a nominee at the time of purchase itself!
The above are some of the changes proposed for the benefit of policyholders by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
The changes have been proposed by the regulator in the draft IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders’ Interests and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024.
The following is a list of major changes for the benefit of insurance policyholders proposed in the IRDAI draft:
Note: These changes are not applicable as of now. They will come into force after final approval of the regulator at a later date.
1. 30 Days Free Look Period: The proposals says that free look period for the policies, obtained through any mode, shall be 30 days from the date of receipt of the policy document.
Currently, policyholders are allowed 15 days free look period. Its extension for 30 days will give them more time to understand or review nitty-gritties mentioned in policy document.
The extended 30 days free look period will especially help those policyholders who buy policies in a rush or after getting influenced by misleading agents.
Also Read: How a SBI customer lost Rs 3.6 lakh to fraudsters and got it back from bank with 9% interest!
2. Electronic transfers: For enabling electronic transfer of refund and claim payments, insurers will be required to collect details of bank accounts of insured at the proposal stage.
3. Mandatory Nomination for Life Insurance: The regulator has proposed that no policy in case of life insurance shall be issued unless nomination is obtained.
4. Nomination for health and general insurance: The draft document says that nomination provisions relating to General, wherever applicable and Health insurance policies shall be introduced.
5. Electronic insurance: The draft further says that insurance policies meeting the defined criteria to be issued in Electronic form.
The IRDAI has asked all stakeholders, including insurance companies, to submit their comments/suggestions on draft proposals by 4th of March 2024. The draft rules will come into force after final approval of the regulator.
