Insurance Policies to go E-Way, What does it mean for you?

Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is all set to revolutionize digital platform in insurance. From October, 2016, most insurance policies will be issued in electronic form. It is similar to buying shares online, after which they are stored in demat form. An investor can make an electronic insurance account (eIA) through an insurance repository or insurer. It gives the benefit to store life and general insurance policies at one place.

Here are some of the benefits of holding insurance electronically :

Safety

Policies held online will have no fear of damage and loss of policy documents. One time KYC will be sufficient and insurers will be able to take KYC inputs from the insurance repository. Investors will no longer be vulnerable to being cheated by fraudsters fabricating and forging policies since digital policies will be authentic. A copy of policy can be downloaded to a remote computer via secured networks at any time by an authorized user. Clickhere

Convenience

All insurance policies, be it life, pension, health or general, can be electronically held under a single e-insurance account. Premium for all the policies can be paid online and service requests or complaints can be registered at the website of the insurance repository. Click here

Less Paperwork

An investor who wants to buy a new electronic insurance policy under and existing eIA need not have to go through KYC verification all over again, if there are no changes to your KYC details recorded earlier. All service requests can be submitted to the insurance repository online and there is no need to go to the offices of individual insurance companies for service. Click here

Smoother Claims

The biggest challenge experienced at the time of making claims is the submission of original documents to the insurer. In case of electronic insurance accounts, bank details of the policy holder are available through the e-insurance account and insurers can make payments using NEFT.

Cost Effective

All basic services provided by the insurance repository are free of charge. Policy holders need not pay extra to buy an electronic policy or to dematerialise an existing policy. Cost savings are indeed possible for insurance companies, if they can completely do away with existing system of physical maintenance of policies. Click here