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Chairman's Message
This issue contains exciting news updates and articles from the world of insurance. The edition carries articles on the impact of AI in the insurance sector, why insurance awareness does not translate to action, and an insightful piece on unlocking the potential of health insurance in India, amongst others. The newsletter also features global developments like how China's new energy vehicle growth is transforming the country's motor insurance market and Malaysian insurers’ increased transparency on medical premium hikes. We hope you find this edition useful
Tapan Singhel MD & CEO
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd.
Chairman, GI Council
Editor's Connect
“Welcome to the 16th edition of the GI Council newsletter .In this issue ,there is an article about learnings in Fire insurance from the devastating LA fires ,USA. Also an article on the possibilities in Health Insurance
”Festive greetings for the celebrations of Holi, Gudi Padwa, Ram Navami & Ramzan Id among others"
Inderjeet Singh
Secretary General
General Insurance Council
Editorial Team
Ms. Vasudha Rao
Ms. Pratibha Arvind Sarathy
Mr. Sharad V Taware
Executive committee Members
Elected Members
Tapan Singhel (Chairman)
Mr. Ramaswamy Narayanan
Mr Mayank Bathwal
Mrs. Girija Subramanian
IRDAI Nominated Members
Prof. Bejon Kumar Misra
Dr Nayan Shah
Mr Milind Bhatawadekar
Mrs Asha Nair
Mr K.C. Lokessh
Regular Invitees
Mr Anup Rau Velamuri
Mr Krishnan Ramachandran
Mr Hitesh Kotak
Mr Animesh Das
Mr. R R Singh
Insurance in news
PM Jan Dhan Yojana: Overdraft facility of Rs 10000, accident insurance up to … Check other hidden benefits of PMJDY
The government has shared lesser-known benefits of PM Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme for its subscribers.The PMJDY is a scheme that provides a basic bank account to every unbanked adult in India. The finance ministry recently addressed a series of queries raised by a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.
Madhya Pradesh and Kerala have highest insurance coverage of senior citizens over 70 years under Ayushman Vay Vandana
The Ayushman Vay Vandana initiative, which aims to provide free healthcare to senior citizens aged 70 and above, has enrolled 25 lakh beneficiaries as of December 2024. This represents inclusion of 4 percent of eligible 6 crore senior citizens over 70 years since launch of the programme in October.
Lessons from LA Fires: Get the Right Fire Insurance for Your House
The recent devastating fires in Los Angeles have underscored the importance of having the right fire insurance for homeowners. As communities rebuild and recover, it’s a reminder that preparation is key when protecting one’s property.Understanding your insurance options can make all the difference with the potential for environmental factors like drought and high winds to fuel wildfires.
Insurance Laws & policies
Cut mediclaim sum from crash victim's total relief, says Karnataka HC The amount received by an accident victim under a mediclaim policy must be deducted from the total compensation under the head of medical expenses and hospitalisation charges, Karnataka HC has held based on Motor Vehicles Act.Justice Hanchate Sanjeevkumar directed Oriental Insurance Company to pay Rs 4.93 lakh along with interest of 6 percent a year to the family of S Hanumanthappa, a resident of Marathahalli in Bengaluru, after deducting Rs 1.8 lakh he had received from mediclaim.
Confronting Cancer Crisis with Health Insurance Plans Providing Cancer CoverageCancer is a major health concern, affecting a wide cross-section of India’s population. The Indian Cancer Congress (ICC) has highlighted that India is facing a significant increase in the absolute number of new cases annually. In the last decade, the number of cancer diagnoses has surged. Currently, 1.4 million new cancer cases are detected each year, with projections indicating a rise to 2 million by 2040.
Consumer Awareness
Responses attributed to Mr. Chirag Bhojani - Head - Data Science & Analytics1.What is the current state of AI adoption in India? Is there a surge on insurers leveraging AI to streamline processes? - New research commissioned by IBM found that about 59% of enterprise-scale organizations (over 1,000 employees) surveyed in India use AI actively in their businesses.
Agentic AI: The Thinking Machine That Will Revolutionize Indian Insurance"Sir, your claim has been settled." Rahul blinked at his phone. No endless paperwork, no waiting for a call from the insurer—just a simple notification confirming his insurance claim was processed. He hadn’t even spoken to a human what hppened behind the scenes? Agentic AI—an advanced, self-learning system—had done all the work. It scanned Rahul’s claim, verified documents, cross-checked fraud databases, and approved the payout, all in minutes. No human intervention, no manual approvals—just lightning-fast automation powered by intelligence that thinks, acts, and learns on its own..
Why Does Awareness of Insurance Not Translate to ActionDespite concerted efforts by the insurance industry, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and the General Insurance Council, the penetration of general insurance in India remains abysmally low. While a lack of awareness was historically cited as the primary culprit, today’s reality is far more complex.
Bridging the Gap: Unlocking the Potential of Health Insurance in IndiaIndia’s health insurance sector stands at a curious crossroads. Despite a population exceeding 1.4 billion and growing economic prosperity, insurance penetration in comparison remains alarmingly low. Only 50 million individuals have personal retail health insurance, leaving a vast majority vulnerable to the risk of financial burden arising out of potential medical exigencies
Global Highlights
China's new energy vehicle growth transforms the country's motor insurance marketAs China continues to lead the way globally in producing and selling new energy vehicles (NEV), the trend has spurred a sixfold increase in related insurance premiums for this segment in just the past five years alone, according to a new AM Best report. NEV premiums now represent 11.5% of China’s total motor insurance business, momentum that AM Best expects to continue as a key element of future market growth
Malaysia: Insurers to get more transparent on medical premium hikesAll insurance companies in Malaysia must implement measures for premium sharing with policyholders starting from 15 January 2025. Country’s deputy finance minister Lim Hui Ying has said that individuals who received premium increase notices last year can contact their insurers from 15 January 2025 to request premium sharing and the insurers must make the necessary adjustments.
General Insurance Council, Ground Floor, National Insurance Building, 12, Jamshedji Tata Road, Churchgate, Mumbai-400020, Maharashtra, India, gicouncil@gicouncil.in
https://www.gicouncil.in/
Disclaimer : Our newsletter endeavors to compile insurance information from various sources in the public domain. In respect of 3rd party articles/news items etc. reproduced, the GI Council accepts no responsibility for the accuracy/authenticity and completeness nor can be seen as endorsing the views/opinions expressed therein.
