Since it will be in digital format, you won’t have to worry about missing any important documents.
From April 1, 2024, it will be mandatory to hold an insurance policy in demat form like shares. Till now, insurance companies provide hard copy of the insurance policy to the insured. It is necessary to give hard copy at the time of insurance claim. Now insurance regulator IRDAI has instructed insurance companies to provide policies in digital form to provide convenience to the insured. It has been named e-insurance. Come, what is this and what benefit will we get from it?
What is e-insurance?
As the name suggests, e-insurance simply means buying an insurance policy in digital format. Your electronic insurance policies will be held in a demat account called e-Insurance Account or EIA. You can manage all your insurance policies – life, health and general insurance policies through e-insurance account. There are four insurance repositories – CAMS Insurance Repository, Karvy, NSDL Database Management (NDML), and Central Insurance Repository of India that facilitate opening of e-insurance accounts in India.
What will be the benefit of e-insurance account?
Firstly, by having an e-insurance account, you will no longer need to keep track of your policy documents. You will be free from the hassle of paperwork while making a claim. Under the e-insurance account, all the policy documents will be kept at one place. Access to e-insurance account will be easy, convenient and time saving. E-insurance account will act as a bridge between insurance companies and policyholders. If you have updated any details like contact number or address, you can change it in EIA and all your insurers will take account of it. Similarly, if your insurer has any updates for you, you can view it in the EIA. Since it will be in digital format, you won’t have to worry about missing any important documents.
How to open an e-insurance account?
Opening an e-insurance account is quite simple. When purchasing a new insurance policy, you can indicate your preference as to where you want to open your account and the insurer will do this on your behalf. You have to provide necessary documents like KYC documents. You can also open EIA directly through the repository. “Keep in mind that the entire facility will be free of charge. You will not have to bear any costs to open an EIA, your insurer will pay.
Is it mandatory to purchase insurance policies in electronic format?
Post COVID-19, the number of EIAs in India has increased significantly. Singhal says, “With all insurance policies, be it life, pension, health or general, being able to be held in electronic format and accessible through an e-insurance account, managing insurance plans is more convenient than ever. Done.”However, you have the option of receiving the policy documents in physical format if you prefer.
