There is a need to include insurance products in the national disaster management policy, according to Namo Narain Meena, Minister of State for Finance.
In his inaugural address at the Asian Forum of Insurance Regulators (AFIR) organised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) here on Wednesday, Meena said the life and non-life cover in the cases of disaster should be clearly spelt out.
Issues such as pricing, selection of nature of insurance cover to be offered and reinsurance were important, he added.
‘Relief-centric’
Disaster management had become a challenge, and the “approach till now has been relief-centric,” he said, adding that the recent shift was towards a holistic, integrated approach with a focus on prevention and risk-mitigation.
Saying that the financial inclusion was a priority for the Government, the minister said insurers adopt technology-driven models with low cost of operations.
All the public sector insurers were directed to open offices in areas with over 10,000 people, he added.
T. S. Vijayan, Chairman, IRDA, said in view of the large number of young population, there would be increased scope for insurance. The three-day conference, being attended by regulators and industry representatives from 15 Asian countries, will focus on regulatory aspects related to marketing and solvency ratio of insurers, among others, he added.
“The views coming out of this meet will greatly help all stakeholders,” he added.