One agent, all companies, all covers: Insurance agents get a makeover

KOLKATA:
Your vicinity LIC agent (or any other coverage agent for that matter) may
soon be able to sell an array of wellness coverage programs and mediclaim policies,
giving you the freedom to take from a host of products. Currently, a health
cover agent is difficult to come up by, and the options available with him are limited
â€" they being that of a peculiar company. Things are in for a change. The panel set up to look into
senior citizens’ wellness coverage facets have suggested convergence of
agents for wellness coverage plans. This agency that agents of any insurance
company â€" private or public, or life or general â€" tin sell health
cover programs of any other company. In effect, the agent will be a agent of all
health coverage programs available in
India. Currently, an agent can
sell policies of lone that peculiar company with which he is attached. The
move to let an agent to sell policies of all companies “will convey in
more competition and terms are expected to come up down,” said an official. “It is also expected to increase incursion of wellness screen in India,
which is now abysmally low,” he
added. At present, the
insurance industry (comprising both life and non-life), have about 30 lakh
agents, all tied up with a peculiar company or the other. Hence, the options
these agents offering are limited. If the recommendation goes a law, each of the
20 hundred thousand life coverage agents and 10 hundred thousand full full general coverage advisers will be
able to sell wellness programs from 17 general coverage companies and 16 life
insurance companies. However,
not all life coverage companies have got started merchandising wellness insurance policies. The
largest life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India, which have about 13
lakh agents, have just announced programs to offer wellness coverage plans. It is
working on merchandises which are expected to hit the marketplace in the adjacent couple of
months. Many private life
insurers have got already started launching wellness plans. Bajaj Allianz Life
Insurance is looking at a Rs 500-crore turnover rate from its wellness insurance
business in 2007-08. Officials experience that the inquiry of an agent pushing a
particular policy, which gives him the peak commission, makes not originate as
most insurance companies are already paying a committee of 15%, the highest
allowed. However, some
companies have got reduced the committee for policies sold to senior citizens. “With A wellness coverage pool for senior citizens being proposed, losses
from this section are likely to worsen drastically,” said an industry
analyst. Every insurance company will lend an amount to this pool and will be
eligible to retreat from it in lawsuit they incur losses.