NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CHIEF SAYS 24 FIRMS APPLY FOR TPA LICENCE

Indian state-run general insurer New India Assurance Company's chairman and managing director M. Ramadoss on Wednesday said the country's four public-sector general insurers have so far received 24 applications to set up the proposed common TPA regime and expressed hope that they will be able to finalise the candidate by the end of the month.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meet on 'Insurance IPOs and valuation', organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, Ramadoss said his company would soon launch a premium health insurance product that would enable policyholders to benefit from treatment at five-star hospitals by paying a higher premium.

To a specific query on whether any foreign firm has put in application for setting up joint TPA, Ramadoss declined to answer but said, "I am not directly looking into it."

There are 27 TPAs (third party administrators) registered with the regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) currently. The health insurance segment generated over Rs 7,000 crore (US$1.6 billion) of premium last year, of which about 70 per cent were generated by the four state-owned insurers.

Early September, the four state-owned general insurers - National Insurance Company, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance - extended the deadline for submitting applications for setting up a common TPA for three more weeks to September 24, as the impasse over the suspension of cashless facilities continued.