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This study attempted to explore the factors which influence portability of indemnitybased health insurance policies. The researcher used a descriptive research design and collected primary data by surveying 385 Mumbaiker respondents who opted for health insurance policies in Mumbai city. The five portability related factors identified were (i) service quality, (ii) inadequate coverage, (Hi) claim related issues, (iv) customization of cover, and (v) lower premium. The most important factor influencing the choice of portability was service quality, followed by inadequate coverage, claim-related customization of cover and lower premium. It was assumed that these five factors should be considered by health insurers who can ensure to retain their policyholders and render the desired customer service promptly and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective was to examine the various enforcement action (penalties) which were imposed by IRDAI on Life and General insurance industry for violation of various insurance rules and regulations. The research was a fact-finding descriptive research based on historical penalty orders published by IRDAI. After analysing the 67 orders published on IRDAI website, it was found that penalty amounting to Rs 1190 lakhs was imposed on general insurers and Rs 206 lakhs was imposed on life insurers. Total penalty amount combined for life and general insurers was 1396 lakhs. Out of which 607 lakhs (43.48%) was related to uncommon category violation and 789 lakhs (56.52%) was related to common category violation between life and general insurers. Total frequency of violation for general and life insurance industry combined was 127 times, with common category violation was 101 times (79.52%) and uncommon category violation was 26 times (20.48%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust is still an issue in the insurance sector as the insurance product sold is intangible. This study focuses on two major intermediaries, namely individual agents, and corporate agent-banks, selling individual health insurance policies based on whether they are trusted by policyholders. The research design used in this study was descriptive. The findings indicate that there is no significance difference in the mean rank of policyholders towards strong work ethics, competency, pricing transparency, claim process transparency, and privacy of shared information among agency channel and bancassurance channel. However, there exists a significant difference in the mean rank of policyholders towards ease of access. It can be concluded that Corporate Agent-Banks are available with more ease of access in comparison to Individual Agents. Since, the opinion of policyholders towards bancassurance channel and agency channel are almost similar towards agreement, it is recommended that General Insurers can invest in both these channels in Mumbai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]