Today, the All India Bank Pensioners’ and Retirees’ Confederation (AIBPARC) wrote a letter to the CMD of National Insurance company Limited over an excessive hike of premium for Bank retirees’ medical insurance. The letter invited the attention of the Chairman of the insurance company that the NICL has been selected through the process of RFP floated by the Indian Banks Association, Mumbai, as the provider of Mediclaim insurance cover for the Bank Retirees for the year 2021-22. The letter pointed out that the renewal quotes of premium to be paid arrived at through the REP process under which the percentage increase of annual premium of the policy without a domiciliary cover over the premium of the previous year is 40.02 pc for workmen and 34.05 for Officers. The letter also apprised that the ICR cannot be the only criterion in an extraordinary situation caused worldwide by the pandemic Covid—19(force majeure) the hospitals charged an exorbitantly high amount for treatment of the pandemic. “A special application of mind on your part is prayed for”, the letter said, quoting “the situation of the unusually huge burden of the cost of treatment being reimbursed is now coming into the computation of ICR and thereby causing adverse impact over the hapless Retirees of the Banking Industry with scanty Pension which remains unrevised for decades”. The excessive hike of premium over the years has pushed a good number of elder citizens of the Industry to go out of the scheme under the compulsive situation, it said. We have unfortunately entered into a vicious circle from which an escape route must be sought out with the help of all concerned. Lesser premium will make the circle broader encompassing the number of people and thereby mitigating the risk of adverse claim ratio, the letter pleaded.
“We, therefore, make an earnest appeal to you to consider the basic issue that the year of a pandemic may kindly be taken as a year of exception and that with the rapid progress of vaccination, the severity of the disease is becoming perceptibly low”, it supplicated.
A copy of the letter was endorsed to IRDAI for information.
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