Thursday, January 29, 2009

Three more health insurance policies by Oriental Insurance

Aiming to widen its focus on the health insurance business, state-owned general insurancer Oriental Insurance on Friday said it would launch a slew of health policies early next fiscal.

Company's Chairman and Managing Director M Ramadoss, said "Health segment is one of our core areas. We are planning to launch two-three long-term health policies.”

The company, he said, is also "fine-tuning" its mediclaim policies to extend enhanced benefits to customers.

Ramdoss said that the company would be filling these products with the regulator ,IRDA, by end-this fiscal and hope to start selling them from April. Oriental's health insurance business grew by 25 per cent. This year, we expect to grow by more than 35 per cent.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Consumer Court Asks Insurance Firm to Compensate Medical Claim

No patient wants to unnecessarily stay in hospital for even an hour, a consumer court has said directing an insurance firm to compensate a man who was denied medical claim for her daughter's injuries on the ground that her wounds were not serious enough to require hospitalization.

Terming the repudiation of mediclaim as"malafide and deficiency in service", the Forum directed the state-owned National Insurance Company Ltd to pay Rs 17,270 to Ashok Narain Sharma, a resident of Model Town in north Delhi. The panel said patients cannot assume the role of doctor and they cannot defy the advice of their consultants.

“When the doctor suggests a stay as indoor patient, the patient has to follow the directives of the doctor. No patient will like to remain admitted even for an hour," Central district Consumer Forum President A K Jain said.

Kirti Sharma, daughter of the complainant, who had met with an accident remained admitted to a private hospital for four days in August, 2006. The complainant, who approached the insurance company for reimbursement of Rs 12,270 for expenses incurred her treatment, was shocked to know that his claim had been rejected on the ground that her injuries did not require hospitalisation.

The company, relying upon a report of a surveyor, had submitted that the insured patient had minor injury on her face in which OPD treatment was enough.