Health insurance premiums in India, especially in major cities, in the capital, New Delhi, can be more expensive as the insurance company considers the effects of air pollution on policy prices.
After increasing pollution health claims in 2024, Delhi is discussing a 10-15 % increase in premium for new health insurance policies.
Just this week, the Swiss Air Quality Technology Company’s World Air Quality Report 2024 said that Delhi is the most polluted capital city globally, while India is the fifth most polluted country in the world in 2024.
“Air pollution in India is a special burden of health, which estimates 5.2 years of age,” he said.
According to the report, 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, with the Branit, the worst of the world-wide city-based city on the border of Assam Meghalaya in the northeastern part of the country.
Air pollution causes an increase in health problems
“Many non -communication diseases such as chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD) and anti -air pollution are increased,” said Manish Sarin, Reliance General Insurance.
He added, “If insurance companies are made a factor of air pollution in the future health policies, it will be a good move. Awareness among the public is increased.”
The Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India Yathar Gurga shared a similar theory.
“It cannot be denied that air pollution is increasing in various metropolitan cities and there is one factors in the growing incidence of cardiovascular diseases,” he told DW.
Garg indicated that it depends on the insurance companies to regularly evaluate the risks and market conditions, and determine the insurance premium paid by people.
The effects of air pollution on health are well documented, but long -term data and studies are required to prove it as a single or primary driver of a percentage of health insurance claims.
To justify a 10-15 % hike in the premium, insurance companies must first update their pricing models to reflect pollution as a risk factor.
Deepak Garg, a National Insurance Company, told DW, “Insurance policies cannot only make air pollution in place to increase premiums,” he noted that “age, lifestyle, existing factors such as the existing comedy of the insurance should be considered.”
‘A pesticide skin of lung cancer’
In the last two years, admission to the hospital in Delhi and adjoining areas has increased significantly due to severe air pollution.
But this problem is not limited to the capital, as air pollution affects a large part of the South Asian country.
The main problem is the air -generated particle, especially the good particles that are in the 2.5 micron or less diameter, named after the “PM 2.5”, which are small enough to enter the lungs in the lungs.
“We can soon see the epidemic of lung cancer in India due to air pollution in India, a medical non -profit, a medical non -profit, a medical non -profit, a medical non -profit, in India, told DW.
Promella, a New Delhi -based pediatrician, who is also a victim of asthma, frightens the clouds of pollution that blanks the Indian capital on a regular basis.
They are enthusiastic about the proposal of air pollution factor in health insurance policies.
Bhutani told DW, “This is a wonderful suggestion, but how will it be implemented which is important and need to explain the better details of the insurance policy.”
Will this force authorities to practice air pollution?
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which has been assigned the monitoring of the insurance industry, has not yet taken the official stand on the matter.
The agency is expected to examine the long -term impact of the proposal on the insurance industry and public health policy, and weigh whether it encourages insurance companies to deal with environmental risks or unfairly punishes policy holders like pollution.
Chandra Bhushan, a public policy expert and CEO of the International Forum for Environment, Stability and Technology, pointed out that if pollution becomes a standard pricing factor, it can give the industry a new look, which requires permanent monitoring of air quality index and health trends throughout India.
He told DW, “There is now enough evidence that high air pollution is directly linked to diseases and therefore health costs. Therefore, it is natural and reasonable for insurance companies to take the risk of air pollution.”
“This means that residents of cities like Delhi, like Delhi, will have to pay a higher price for health insurance than residents of cities like Kochi, which is clean.”
“This should increase the pressure on state governments to improve air quality improvement.”
Edit: Srinivas
