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The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has said that insurers cannot deny coverage for people with HIV, unless supported by actuarial studies.
The market’s insurance regulator reminded insurers that it is illegal to discriminate against persons with the Human lmmunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired lmmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a report by Times of India said.
“All insurance companies are hereby directed to comply with the aforesaid provisions of the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act 2017 with immediate effect,” IRDAI said in a circular. The authority directed insurers through a draft regulation in 2013 to provide cover to persons positive for HIV.
The National AIDS Control Organisation estimates that there are 2.14 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), out of India’s total population of 1.3 billion as of 2016.
Despite the existing legislation and directive from IRDAI, many insurers have not created products catering to PLHIV for pricing-related issues. HIV and related conditions are usually exempt from many insurance products’ coverages.
“The problem is that insurers do not have enough data to design cover for HIV-positive patients,” G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of New India Assurance Company, told TOI. “We can offer coverage for early-stage HIV-positive patients with certain caveats and conditions.”
Meanwhile, Star Health Insurance is one of the few insurers in India that offers a group-basis coverage for PLHIV.
“[The IRDAI order] is a good step,” said V Jagannathan, chairman and managing director of Star Health Insurance. “HIV-positive patients need not be discriminated from the regular population for insurance cover.”
