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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Sharp hike in health insurance premium hits senior citizens -Rachel Chitra and Rema Nagarajan

Sharp hike in health insurance premium hits senior citizens -Rachel Chitra and Rema Nagarajan

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published Published on Dec 24, 2017   modified Modified on Dec 24, 2017
-The Times of India

This month, Kolkata-based Mr and Mrs Soubito Banerjee, who are in their 70s, saw their medical insurance premium almost double from Rs 32,000 to Rs 63,000. Chennai-based Annathai Gopalakrishnan (68) will pay Rs 58,000, up from Rs 29,000. In general, a health insurance cover of just Rs 5 lakh for a 65-year-old couple now costs Rs 84,000 per annum, as against Rs 54,000 five years ago.

For many senior citizens living on a pension, the increase is stiff. At their age they cannot switch to another insurer, and a switch is pointless because the companies have raised rates in tandem. One big reason for the increase is the withdrawal of the 15% discount on the premium for no claims. There was also a family discount of 10%, available to at least two members seeking cover.

Together, that accounted for a significant 25% discount on the premium. These discounts were stopped by insurance companies last year after IRDA ruled in 2013 that those who had made a claim could not be charged higher premiums.

Though the discounts have been withdrawn for everyone, seniors take a larger hit because premiums rise with age. "My client has been paying insurance premium for more than 30 years. He used to be careful, paying small hospital bills from his own pocket to maintain the no-claim status," a health insurance agent told TOI. That strategy will no longer work. G Srinivasan, CMD of New India Assurance Company, says insurers face losses of 300% in the senior citizen category. "The primary cause is medical inflation. Hospitals have no regulator, but we do. We are forced to increase prices for our viability."

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The Times of India, 24 December, 2017, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sharp-hike-in-health-insurance-premium-hits-senior-citizens/articleshow/62226462.cms


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