General insurance industry logs 14% growth in April

The general insurance industry grew by 14 per cent in April led by strong growth in premiums collected by private sector insurers, including Bajaj Allianz and Reliance General.
The 17 non-life insurers collected a total of Rs 3,593 crore premium in April this year, against Rs 3,141 crore during the same period in the previous year, according to the industry data. During the period, the four public sector non-life insurance companies collected Rs 2,015 crore in the reviewed month, against Rs 1,864 crore in the year-ago period. Private players increased their business from Rs 1,278 crore to Rs 1,578 crore during the period, a significant growth of 23 per cent in the month. While growth of public sector firms dropped to 8 per cent in the period. State-run New India Insurance maintains its position at the top with the highest premium collection of Rs 694 crore in April, while ICICI Lombard is at the second slot with premium of Rs 543 crore in the month. Private insurers like Reliance General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz are contesting strongly to grab the second position in the insurance industry. Bajaj Allianz witnessed a growth of 28 per cent in the month with its premium growing to Rs 276 crore from Rs 215 crore in April last year. While Reliance General Insurance, which has been among the fastest growing firms, witnessed an increase of 24 per cent in its premium of Rs 274 crore in the month.
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How to make the best use of cashless mediclaims

MUMBAI: Cashless hospitalisation is in today. If cashless were to be efficiently used, you can simply walk into a network hospital, flash your card and undertake treatment without paying a penny. But these “hassle-free” plans can actually end up being more painful for you. Here is a checklist which could come in handy at stressful times. If it’s a planned hospitalisation, talk to your third-party administrator (TPA). Get an estimate of the medical cost for your treatment and choose the hospital from the mentioned network accordingly. n Keep your mediclaim cards handy. Also, keep the contact details of your TPA. Check the list of network hospitals covered under your mediclaim policy along with the room specifications. Check the room details, as some mediclaim policies accommodate only simple air-conditioned rooms as against deluxe rooms, because of rising medical costs. Some policies also have imposed sub-limits. The most common sub-limits imposed by insurers are room rents, doctors’ fees and diagnostics. So, when you sign up for a policy, check if the insurer has assigned a maximum amount for a specific expense. If you have a sum insured of Rs 1 lakh and the insurer has capped your room rent at 1-1.5% of the sum insured, then your room rent cannot exceed Rs 1,000. Similarly, insurers cap the doctor’s fee at 25-30% of the bill amount. If the actual bill amount exceeds any of these sub-limits, then you will have to pay the balance from your pocket. Stay within the sum assured of your mediclaim. If you hail from a small or mid-sized town, you should look at a cover of Rs 2-3 lakh. If you reside in a metro, you should not look at covers less than Rs 4-5 lakh. Finally, cashless mediclaim does not cover OPD consultation/procedure done in pre-hospitalisation period. The recent budget has given an additional deduction of Rs 15,000 year under Section 80 D if you pay medical premiums for your parents. Earlier, you could avail of deduction up to Rs 15,000 per annum on the premium payment for dependent parents, spouse or children. The money should be on its way. Although there are administrative hassles in a cashless product, you can’t rule it out. It’s a must have in your financial kitty today.
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