Why higher premiums should not stop smokers from buying term insurance covers
Given the alarmingly high mortality rate amongst smokers, life insurers charge substantially high insurance premiums December 25, 2020 / 11:18 AM IST
In the midst of COVID-19’s toll lies yet another alarming statistic. Around 8 million die every year due to tobacco consumption. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), of these, over 7 million are linked to direct tobacco use, while nearly 1.2 million can be traced to second-hand smoke that non-smokers are exposed to. India’s Health Ministry statistics put the country’s tobacco-related deaths at close to 1.3 million a year.
While COVID-19 has pushed many to buy health insurance policies and term insurance covers, did you know that if you are smoker, your premiums can be around 70 percent higher?
Facing a massive hike in health insurance premiums? Here’s what you can do
Despite IRDAI’s clarifications, policyholders continue to suffer as insurers hike health cover premiums citing high claims December 10, 2020 / 09:27 AM IST
After the insurance regulator-mandated norms on standardisation of health insurance exclusions came into force from October 1, 2020, several policyholders have complained of huge hikes in premiums.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), however, has clarified that that the premium rise due to the change in norms is not beyond 5 percent. “…insurers were permitted to change the base premium by up to +/- 5 per cent of the originally approved premium rates in order to comply with the guidelines on standardisation of exclusions as a one-time measure for seamless transition of existing products to ensure viability and sustainability,” the IRDAI said. By September 30, 2020 premiums increased by up to 5 percent only