Rajesh was confused. Having multiple insurance policies and
safekeeping them was a pain. One day, over a cup of morning coffee, he read in
the newspaper that policyholders can now get their policies dematted as they’ve
been doing for shares and mutual funds. While this sounded great as a concept,
Rajesh wanted to know more about the finer aspects of how this works.
So, what is an e-insurance account?
E-Insurance Account is a short form of “Electronic Insurance
Account”. The underlying objective of such an account is to safeguard the
insurance policy documents of the policyholder by converting them into an
electronic format. This e-Insurance account thus helps the policyholder access
his/her entire insurance portfolio at a click of a button.
To ensure best practices, the IRDA created guidelines for
Insurance Repositories to follow and granted a Certificate of Registration to
the following five entities, allowing them to act as ‘Insurance repositories’
who have been authorized to open e-Insurance Accounts:
Following are a list of reasons why you should open an
e-insurance account:
Convenience: All categories of insurance policies (life,
pension, health or general) can be electronically held under a single account
and policy details can be accessed at a click of a button by logging into the
account. Thus, it allows policyholder as well as the authorized representative
get a single view of all policies which can reduce a lot of hassle especially
at the claims stage.
Related: Insurance policies to protect what’s important to
you [Info graphic]
Safety: Unlike paper policies where there is a loss of damage
or policy getting lost, electronic policies do not suffer from these risks
& can be easily accessed whenever and wherever needed.
Time saving: In addition to insurers, service requests can
now be submitted at any of Insurance Repository’s service points. A single
request, such as the one for a change of address, can be made to the Insurance
Repository, who can update it across all policies.
Seamless pay-outs: Policy benefits will be paid through
electronic facility to the registered bank account, thus ensuring speedier and
more convenient claim settlement, thereby negating any chances of fraud.
Related: 5 signs your agent is lying to you (and what to do
if they are)
How to open an e-insurance account
A policyholder has to fill the e-Insurance account form and
attach the following documents:
Photo ID proof (as per acceptable documents list)
Recent passport size photograph,
Cancelled Cheque (In case of ECS/NEFT services for insurance
premium payment transaction)
Address proof (as per acceptable documents list)
Thereafter, one has to submit the account opening docket to
the Insurance Repository or General
Insurance Company. It generally takes upto 7 working days for the account
to be opened. Policyholders receive a welcome kit with the details of how to
operate the account. Each account has a unique Account number and the account
holder will be granted a unique Login ID and Password to access his/her
electronic policies online.
Policyholder can convert existing paper polices into
electronic policies after opening of the account by providing a service request
to the Insurance Repository/ Insurer.
In case one purchases a new policy and wants to have it
auto-added to the e-insurance account, he/she has to just state the e-insurance
account number on the proposal/application form & make a request to add it
to your e-insurance account.
Conclusion:
An e-insurance account is a great way to save families from
the hassle of running around trying to locate the policy copy in the event of a
claim etc., or even approaching each insurer separately for minor things like
change of address or phone number. Policyholders would do well to embrace this
initiative wholeheartedly & organize their insurance portfolio to get the
convenience that comes with this account.
[Source: https://www.tomorrowmakers.com/articles/insurance-basics/e-insurance-account-all-you-need-to-know]
