Loan protector cover under new health plan to benefit customers: Liberty General Insurance CEO

Liberty General Insurance has launched a loan protector cover under its newly launched health insurance product.

The insurer has launched ‘Critical Connect’ to cover customers for up to 60 illnesses. Unlike traditional health policy, where the claims are reimbursed after the expense is incurred or cashless at partner hospitals, CEO Roopam Asthana said this benefit-based product will offer a lump-sum benefit as soon as an ailment is diagnosed.

Under the loan protector cover that will be offered as an option under this policy, a customer, who is diagnosed with a critical illness listed under the product, can either opt for to receive payout in equated monthly instalments (EMIs) for 12 months or as a lump sum up to 3 percent of the sum insured.

This is the first health insurance product to offer such a benefit to customers. Asthana told Moneycontrol that this option will benefit customers who are not able to pay their EMI due to being diagnosed with a critical illness and is unable to work for a few months.

The health insurance policy offers a sum insured of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore with a tenure of one, two or three years. Asthana added that the claim settlement process will also be faster with its in-house claims team.

There will be two plan options under the policy. If the customer opts for Plan A, he/she can choose critical illness bundles covering 9, 25, or 43 critical illnesses. Whereas Plan B offers disease-specific bundles such as Heart Protect, Cancer Protect, and Brain Protect. This policy can be availed by Indian citizens aged over 18 years but below 65 years.

“Customers have the freedom to choose critical illnesses and cover size as per their needs,” said Asthana.

The policy covers major and minor illnesses including heart disease, cancer, organ transplant and HIV. Customers have to choose the inclusion of critical illnesses as per their needs and family medical history.

According to Asthana, the increased awareness of health insurance due to the coronavirus outbreak will help the general insurance industry.

From April to July, Liberty General saw a 10.7 percent YoY decline in gross premium to Rs 435.05 crore. For July, gross premium was flat at Rs 117.5 crore compared to Rs 118.7 crore in the year-ago period.

He expects customer sentiment towards insurance purchase to improve by October. “Business revival for the industry as a whole could be seen by December provided there is an announcement on the coronavirus vaccine.”

Gross direct premiums for the general insurance industry (excluding health insurers and specialist insurers) saw a 1.4 percent YoY decline to Rs 49,528.41 crore for the period ended July 31. Standalone health insurers saw a 23 percent YoY growth in premium to Rs 4,806.06 crore.