Weekly Insurance Round-up Tuesday, November 23, 2021

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We're back with the latest edition of Beshak's Weekly News Round-up 🗞️ - an analysis of all Insurance News & Updates, straight from our in-house research team! 🧐

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🎯 Hard copies of policy documents preferred over soft copies: BMPA survey 🧾

🎯 Insurance a preferred financial tool: Survey 🔍

🎯 Mis-selling & claim rejection among top reasons for complaints received by insurance ombudsman 🗣

🎯 Allied market research shows the Indian Dental insurance market to reach a new high 🦷

🎯 Scripbox partners with leading life insurers to offer life insurance products 🛡️

🎯 Insurtech & health tech startup Clinikk raised $4Mn 💰

• As per a survey conducted by the Bombay Master Printers Association (BMPA), it was found that almost 82% of the respondents preferred a physical copy of their policies over a soft copy.
• The Bombay Master Printers Association is a well-networked association of print providers, pre-press, pre-media specialists, post-press and converting, package printing, agencies and printers’ suppliers i.e. manufacturers and traders.
• The survey included 5,900 respondents spread across several age groups and regions. 
• 56% of the respondents were in the age group of 18-40 years, 28% in the 41-60 years bracket and 14% of the respondents were 60 years and above.
• Due to the pandemic, the insurance need among the customers have increased and, as a result, there is a spike in demand. Out of all the respondents who purchased insurance, only half of them received a hard copy from the insurers.
• Almost 8 out of 10 participants felt the need to have a physical copy of the insurance policy at the time of the claim or in case of any emergency.
• Most insurers had stopped sending the hard copies way before the pandemic as part of their  “Go Green'' initiatives. Still, some of them ask for physical copies of the documents from customers at the time of claim. 
• Beshak Take:  The demand for insurance has increased since the pandemic and although everything is going digital, people still prefer a hard copy of their policy documents. Although a few companies like ICICI, TATA, etc send a hard copy of policy documents to their customers, there are many who send a digital copy. 
• While it is important to make people understand the reason behind issuing a digital copy, we need to ensure that the digital copies are as good as the physical ones. Also, insurers should start handling claims the digital way and start accepting soft copies of all necessary documents.

Source: Live Mint

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• Ageas Federal Life insurance and YouGov India conducted a survey to understand the effect of the pandemic on the financial preparedness of Indian parents in planning the future of their children’s education.
• As per this Future Fearless survey, insurance products were considered a preferable financial tool by many. 
• Parents and kids under the age of 10 years participated in this survey and the sample size was 1,333 participants. The survey was conducted across 11 cities using the online self-administered quantitative method (a method that has a form with several open and close-ended questions which are answered by the participants with no interviewer). 
• With the education costs going up, most parents consider it important to have proper savings as they want their child to receive the best education.
• Out of the total number of parents surveyed, two-third of them have already invested in life insurance solution plans for securing their child’s education like - 
  • Unit Linked Plans(ULIPs) - A combination of life insurance and investments.
  • Money-back Plans - Plans that provide a percentage of the sum insured at a regular interval.
  • Endowment Plans - Plans designed to pay a lump sum after a specific term or on death.
• Out of these, Money-back plans were preferred by most parents who participated in the survey.
• Further, parents who witnessed job insecurity, salary cuts, uncertainty in financial income, and other financial stress in the pandemic are rethinking their financial plans.
• While 1 out of every 3 parents fear their savings might not be enough, two-third of them think they are saving enough for their child’s education.
• Beshak Take: The financial crisis that came along with the pandemic has made many people rethink their future financial plans. With insurance awareness being increased among the masses, it is also being seen as a financial tool for financial preparedness.

Source: Business Standard

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• In the Annual report 2020-21 released by the council of insurance ombudsman, certain suggestions were made to reduce the number of complaints received by customers.
• The Council of insurance ombudsman has suggested that insurers maintain proper communication with hospitals and policyholders to resolve the grievances of the policyholders.
• The report also suggested making the terms and conditions documents of the policy in vernacular and simple language so that policyholders can understand the same. This will also help reduce miss-selling and miscommunication.
• The report states that the origin of most complaints is due to - 
  • Craze for new business
  • Communication gap between the insurer and the insured
  • Casual approach in filling up the claim form.
  • Non-disclosure of terms and conditions of the policy.
  • Indifferent approach to settlement of claims.
• Insurers are suggested to take necessary steps in filling these loopholes, provide proper training to their marketing personnel so that they can help the prospective customers and existing policyholders.
• Of the 26,297 complaints received by the ombudsman, 51% (13415) was of Life insurance, 11% (2890) was of General insurance, and 38% (9992) was of Health insurance. 
• The Ombudsman has collectively disposed of 30596(87%) claims out of the total 35019 claims (total of outstanding and new claims).

• Most complaints with regards to life insurance were due to mis-selling and major complaints were registered against private insurers. In health insurance, most of the complaints were related to reasonable and customary charges and in motor insurance, most complaints were related to unsatisfactory assessment of the losses by the surveyor.
• Beshak Take: As per the report, a majority of the complaints were due to mis-selling. While selling insurance, it is necessary to have a proper communication channel with the prospective customers and ensure that they understand the product properly. It is also important to inform all terms and conditions of the product to the customer to avoid any misunderstanding at the time of claims.
• All the marketing personnel must be given proper training. Insurance is based on utmost good faith - when the insurers expect the customer to disclose all material facts, the same is expected out of the insurers as well.
• Now that we’re witnessing a rise in demand for insurance, it is necessary to ensure that there is a trust factor among the customers about insurance.

Sources: Money Control | Ombudsman Annual Report 2020-21

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• Market research and advisory company of Allied Analytics LLP - Allied Market Research conducted a survey on Indian Dental Insurance Market, and as per the report, the Indian Dental Insurance market generated $672.83 Mn in 2020 and is expected to make $3.65 Bn in 2030.
• The Indian Dental Insurance Market is split into different sections in the report based on type, coverage, demographic and end-user. The report provides a detailed analysis of the market size, current and upcoming trends, future estimations, and key players. 
• The Dental Preferred Provider Organizations (DPPO) had most of the market share in 2020 based on coverage, wherein it contributed almost three-fifths of the market share.
• DPPO is a type of managed care dental plan. Consumers with PPOs select a dentist from a network of preferred dental providers who have agreed to provide dental care to members at reduced rates.
• More than two-fifths of the market share was contributed by the preventive dental care segment in 2020 based on type.
• Based on the end-user, individual segment’s contribution was highest in 2020 which was almost three-fourths of the total share.
• As per the report, the main players in the insurance dental market are Allianz, AXA, Aetna Inc., Cigna, ICICI Prudential, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd, HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Ltd. (Apollo Munich), Life Insurance Corporation of India, Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited, MetLife Services and Solutions, LLC.   
• The increase in awareness about oral hygiene and government support in considering the dental insurance policy led to the development of the Indian Dental Insurance Market. However, the combination of Dental insurance along with health insurance and tough profit margins hampered the market growth.

Source: Benzinga

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• Scripbox has partnered with Max Life insurance, Aegon Life insurance, and HDFC Life insurance to sell term life insurance products.
• With this partnership, Scripbox aims to offer unbiased solutions as per the customer’s needs with regards to life insurance and in turn, increase insurance penetration.
• Scripbox is a digital wealth management firm founded in 2012 and headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Source: Live Mint

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• Clinnik, an insurtech and health tech startup, has raised $4 Mn in a Pre-Series - A funding led by MassMutual Ventures.
• The startup aims to integrate its full-stack products, invest in product development, hire key team members, and expand its services in Bangalore and other cities.
• Clinikk’s current investors include Times Internet Group, EMVC, 500 Startups’ Southeast Asia-focused 500 Southeast Asia, and WEH Ventures.
• Clinikk offers a comprehensive health plan on a monthly subscription basis to its customers, which also includes doctor consultations, OPD Coverage, etc.
• The founders of Clinnik believe that the out-of-pocket expenses are on the rise as primary care is neglected. They think that the lack of insurance penetration is more of a product problem than a distribution problem. 
• In the coming months, the Clinnik customers will be able to reach qualified doctors either digitally or walk into any nearest Clinnik network care center in 10 minutes.

Sources: BW Disrupt | Inc42

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