Insurance firms adapt to challenges posed by Covid: Irdai chief

Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (Irdai) chairman SC Khuntia on Friday said the insurance industry had been able to adapt to challenges posed by the pandemic and was resilient in providing services to policyholders without any disruption.

In cases of claims related to the pandemic, the general insurance industry has made payments amounting Rs 7,136 crore and the life insurance industry has paid claims of Rs 1,242 crore. For corona-specific products, the total claim settled so far was about Rs 700 crore, Khuntia said, adding that the industry has recovered and is showing a positive growth.

Khuntia was speaking at the National Insurance Academy and Swiss Re seminar on `Navigating uncertainty: Insight Driven Innovation’. On standardised products, he said the authority is not against innovation but there are minimum benchmarks set for the industry and insurance companies should innovate from time to time and upgrade. Sandbox regulations has incentivised more and more insurance companies to come up with innovative products and services, he said.

The regulator is of the view that insurance companies should be involved with policyholders throughout the policy and not just at the time of selling policies and making claim payments.

G Srinivasan, director, NIA, said risks are becoming quite complex and the insurance industry would have to reinvent itself for the next decade.

Hadi Riachi, CEO, Swiss Re India branch, stressed the use of advanced risk analytics and automation to deal with the changing risk landscape.