Hyderabad: Insurance gives financial security to our future. That's why many people take health and life insurance policies. Insurance companies in our country are regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). Hence, the policyholders have to follow the IRDAI guidelines from time to time.
Recently, IRDAI has made it clear that insurance companies must issue e-Policy to new policyholders. In this context, should the insurance policies taken a long time ago be converted into e-Policies? What should we do to convert it to an e-Policy? Let's find out now.
What is an e-Policy?
Until recently, insurance documents were hand-delivered after taking insurance policies. But now, IRDAI has directed the insurance companies to issue insurance policies in the form of digital documents. Therefore henceforth insurance policies will be issued in the form of digital documents. This is called e-Policy. This rule came into effect on April 1. However, policyholders are required to open an e-Insurance Account (eIA) to store and manage their e-Policies.
Benefits of e-Policy
Policyholders can easily access their e-Policy from anywhere. The policy being in digital format makes it easier for the insurance company to communicate with the policyholders.
Claims are resolved more easily
Not necessarily, but as per IRDAI's new rules, electronic conversion of previously issued policies is not mandatory. However, if the insured wants to convert his insurance into an e-Policy, the insurance company must provide an opportunity for that.
How to open an e-Insurance Account (eIA)?
There is no charge for opening an eIA or converting the policy into an e-Form. The insured has to download the e-Insurance Account form from the repository of his choice. After filling it the insured should submit the KYC documents, an identity card with a passport-size photograph, PAN card, date of birth certificate and residential address for opening an e-Insurance account.
How to convert to e-Insurance Policy?
The policyholder must first fill the conversion form. In it, the name of the policyholder, policy number, e-Insurance account number and name of the insurance company have to be filled. After that, the insured should submit this form and e-Insurance account opening forms to the insurance company. As soon as your regular insurance policy is converted to an e-Policy, you will receive a confirmation via SMS or e-mail.
Read more: E-Insurance Mandatory For All Policy Holders From April 1
