bengaluru given the lockdown in many states the insurance regulator on monday has requested that both life and general insurance companies give policyholders a graceperiod of 30 daysfor life insurance irdai asked insurers to give 30 days time for premium renewal and in the case of health insurance the regulator asked insurers to condone a 30delay in premium payment without deeming it a break in policy insurers are requested to contact the policyholders well in advance so as not to have a discontinuance in coverage said irdai in a circular on mondaywhile for life insurance policyholders this might come as relief those with mediclaim policies must still try and get their premium paid before the policy lapses if they want continued coverage as the relaxation irdai is giving will ensure continuity of benefits of the old health policy but not coverage during the break period because of section 64vb of the insurance act and even though the brokers association has requested that the act be amended that will take time said an irdai officialirdai permitting insurers to renew health insurance policies with a 30day break without losing benefits is significant as earlier even a days break would result in the insured losing the benefit of no claims track record and risk claims being rejected for being a preexisting ailmentsources also said irdai has requested the centre to declare insurance as an essential service for all states in india so far maharashtra is the only state that has declared insurance as an essential servicethe regulator also noted the lockdown in many states would lead to disruption in service from insurance companies insurers have been asked to maintain continuity of business operations through possible alternate modes including telephonic and digital contactinsurers said the policyholders who would suffer the most are senior citizens who are at highrisk of contracting coronavirus and many not be digitally savvy its not just senior citizens even youngsters prefer to pay via agents or through our corporate offices till date we get 75 of our premium payment through physical means said dr prakash ceo star health insurance cowe are aware that senior citizens could be at higher risk of contracting so we are making alternate arrangements for premium collection he addedapart from individual health policies even group health policy renewals could face delays say industry sources insurance brokers association of india ibai president sanjay khedia says there will be administrative delay in enrolling the names of all the employees of corporate groups most of the work for group mediclaim involves heavy manual intervention even in the digital age so its possible we could see some delays on that front too