Buying insurance policies to require an e-account from October onwards

While digital revolution has taken over almost all sectors, the insurance industry was yet to witness it and its benefits, but not anymore.

From October 1st, almost all insurance policies will have to be issued in electronic form, which means that buying one would be similar to buying shares online, after which they are stored in demat form. These e-policies would include all motor insurance and overseas travel insurance policies, which would only be purchasable in demat form.

This also means that to buy or renew these policies, one will need an e-Insurance Account (eIA).

The guidelines for this digital revolution have been laid down by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Issuance of e-Insurance Policies) Regulations, 2016.

Talking of the benefits, policyholder would be able to fill application forms, make payments online, and get policy document issued, all from the comfort of their home and that too, without using any papers.

This would also ease the maintenance and management of policy documents, including the lengthy and time-consuming process of applying for a duplicate policy document in case it gets lost.

"More importantly, customers will no longer be vulnerable to being cheated by fraudsters fabricating and forging policies since digital policies will be authentic," Easwara Narayanan, COO, Future Generali India Insurance, told ET.

However, to this, the response from the industry hasn't been very encouraging as of now, because not many people are yet aware of the technology that the digital revolution demands.

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