Third party motor insurance premium may rise further

Mumbai: Lakhs of vehicle owners across the country may have to pay more for buying the mandatory insurance cover — third party motor cover — for their vehicles.

The third party motor insurance premium is likely to go up within the range of 15-50 per cent in 2013, the second hike in the last one year.

“The hike may come within a fortnight . The premium may increase between 15-50 per cent in various vehicle categories,” said the chairman of a public sector insurance company.

As the third party motor insurance is still regulated by IRDA, it has already decided to hike the rates to make up the huge losses in this portfolio — a lion’s share of total losses of over Rs 10,000 crore suffered by the insurance sector is accounted by third party motor cover.

“Our claim ratio is 175 per cent in the third party motor segment,” said G Srinivasan, CMD, New India Assurance.

In fact, the earlier hike which was done in March 2012 was disputed by the transporters’ association which had fought a legal battle with IRDA and general insurers in Calcutta High Court. However after eight months of litigation, the court had passed verdict in favour of the hike.

Earlier in 2012, while asking the domestic general insurers to hike the provisioning — capital to be set aside to pay the future claims as it takes years settle claims under this category — against the third party motor portfolio, the IRDA had assured

No insurance cover for organ donors

CHENNAI: Srinidhi (name changed), a housewife, donated a part of her liver to her husband a few years ago. Even though she has no complications and is perfectly healthy, she was surprised to find that insurance companies rejected her application for comprehensive health cover.

"Insurance companies don't ask if you have donated an organ. The application forms ask if there is a scar of the body and the reason for it. When you say you donated an organ, the application is rejected," said Srinidhi. The liver regenerates after donation and the donor is as normal as anyone else. "I am willing to prove this with scans and doctor's reports," she said.

 Many donors say they weren't issued policies despite undergoing extra tests. The problem is not confined to new applications. Insurers insist that donors undergo specific tests when policies come up for renewal. "The profile of the patient may have changed post donation, and risks arising out of such changes may not be covered under the original policy," said a senior official from a Chennai-based insurance company.

Jayakar (name changed), 69, who leads a retired life in Bangalore, applied for health insurance six months ago. Three insurance companies, including a public-sector company, rejected his application after he told them he had donated one of his kidneys in 1984.

"I am healthy. I am not diabetic or hypertensive," he said. Jayakar worked for State Bank of India and then the Tata group, both of which covered all his medical expenses. "After retirement, I realized I didn't have health cover. I didn't know I'd be ineligible because of a selfless act," he said.

Kidney and liver are the only two organs people can donate when they are alive. Other organs such as heart, lung and pancreas come from brain-dead persons. Nephrologists say donating a kidney may lead to a slight increase in blood pressure and in protein levels in urine, but it does not increase risk of kidney disease or reduce life expectancy. "On the contrary, I would say kidney donors are healthier than others because before they donate, we ensure that they are free of all diseases," said nephrologist Rajan Ravichandran.

Urologist Dr Sunil Shroff, who heads Mohan Foundation, a non-profit that promotes organ donation, said there were no reasons to reject applications by organ donors. "We must encourage people to donate organs to their loved ones. I wish medical professionals working with insurance companies would stop rejecting genuine cases," he said.

A few do get lucky. New India Assurance has given policies to some organ donors. "A person donates an organ only when it is considered safe by doctors. While there may have been some aberrations in terms of health cover for organ donors, we don't have an issue in terms of providing cover for them," said G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, New India Assurance.