E-insurance term defines electronic insurance. It means managing all your health insurance, life insurance, motor vehicle insurance, travel insurance, and other insurance policies digitally. Having an e-insurance policy is a cost-effective way, saving individuals from excessive paperwork. Also, it acts as a safety device against policy theft or loss. An E-Insurance account means the account where all the E- Insurance policies can be saved in the digital form. An E-Insurance could be defined exactly like holding shares in a Demat account. The policyholders of an E-insurance account can access their life insurance portfolio at a few clicks.
How Does It Work?
Much like having depositories for Demat services, there are service providers who open an insurance repository to store insurance policies of individuals. The insurance policies of different insurers can also be stored in the same account. Each insurance company has repository partners who help the company’s issue policies in the digital form. Individuals can opt for any of both, insurance company or the repository itself to open the e-insurance account. There are 5 authorized repositories to open an e-insurance account:
- NSDL Database Management Limited
- Central Insurance Repository Limited
- CAMS Repository Services Limited
- Karvy Insurance Repository Limited
- SHCIL Projects Limited
Note: An individual can hold only one e-insurance account.
Is It Mandatory To Have An E-Insurance Account?
No. Having an e-insurance account isn’t a necessity. However, one might have to open an e-insurance account as many policies possess the eligibility to issue e-insurance and the regulations by IRDAI may make it mandatory like if an insurance company issues a policy of certain ticket size, they need to have an e-insurance account is mandatory. Since an e-insurance account is all about keeping your policies safeguarded from policy loss; the need for it is anticipated.
How Will An E-Insurance Account Be Useful?
E-insurance account holder enjoys multiple benefits by opening one e-insurance account. The tedious task of going through piles of paper can now easily be eliminated by digital form. Also, it is an easy and swift form of keeping all your policies safe in one place. Below listed are the few points that suffice how useful an e-insurance account is:
- Opening an e-insurance account is absolutely free.
- The insurance policy in digital form prevents the policy from loss and theft.
- One can access his insurance policy anytime, anywhere in a few clicks since it is in an electronic form
- All the insurance policies can be monitored in one account, it is easy to track the policy status
- The premium of your insurance can be paid online instead of wasting time standing in queues and paying through cash.
- E-insurance subscriber doesn’t have to submit KYC document every time he buys a new insurance policy. Online Insurance account number is required for this process.
Is It Easy To Open An E-Insurance Account?
Yes, opening an e-insurance account is as easy as it sounds. However, it should be considered that opening an account with an insurance firm is pretty easier than opening it with a repository. Individuals need to download an application form to any insurance repository of their choice, fill it and submit it along with self-attested necessary documents as identity proof, address proof, and a canceled cheque. The best part about opening an e-insurance account is that digital form eliminates the unnecessary use of paperwork and makes the process hassle-free. Also in the busy hectic schedule, this process is time-efficient and reduces the cost of the application too. Opened with a customer-centric approach, customers can store all their electronic insurance policies inclusive of health, life, and other insurance policies from different insurers in the same account.
What Are The Charges For This?
Opening an e-insurance account is free of any charge irrespective of opening it with any of the government authorized repositories such as Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, Central Insurance Repository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited, SHCIL Projects Limited, and CAMS Repository Services Limited. Also, there is no fee charged to convert an existing physical policy into electronic form and keeping them in your e-insurance account. Insurance firms whose policies are held in the repository pay directly to the insurance repository. Therefore, this is a cost-effective way of opening an e-insurance account.
How Many Days Does It Take To Open An E-Insurance Account After All The Necessary Formalities Are Completed?
Aforesaid, setting up an e-insurance account is a hassle-free experience with swift service. Once all the necessary formalities have been completed as submitting the account opening form of a preferred insurance repository and attaching important documents to it like address proof & identity proof, it takes 7 days from the receipt of the application. Once the account is created successfully, the subscriber of the account gets a welcome kit. The pin number for the account is sent separately. Since there is no paperwork in the process, it may take less than 7 days to get an e-insurance account opened successfully.