Budget 2011- Impact on Insurance/ Health Insurance

Budget 2011- Impact on Insurance/Health Insurance

Last day of February and people listen to the speech of Finance Minister of India, watch the analysis on TV and read comments in newspaper.

What does it mean to us with respect to Insurance/ Health Insurance

1. All unit linked insurance plans will attract Service Tax so depending upon company/ charges you will definitely pay more. For example, if you paid an annual premium of Rs. 10,000, the service tax (of 10 per cent) charged was Rs. 100. Now, the tax to be paid will be Rs. 150. These charges will be adjusted in the premiums and accordingly the yield will fall as far as you are concerned.

2. Senior Citizens above 80 years will pay no income tax till Rs. 5 Lakh income. It means saving of Rs. 26780 to any one who is above 80 yrs and has income of Rs 5 lakh. It could have been better for FM to give gift of Health Insurance policy for all those who are above 80 years. The same amount would have been given to Insurance Companies and it would have given boost to Health Insurance premium.

3. Service Tax @ 5% will be charged on all services/including diagnostic offered by a hospital or nursing home that has central air-conditioners and has more than 25 beds. This means that service tax will be added in one way or other to pre hospitalization, hospitalization and post hospitalization bills and you will bear it as your insurance limit will be exhausted earlier. Seeing health care inflation and impact of Service Tax the sum assured should be increased by you by 50% this year. It means if your sum assured is Rs 2 lakhs then it is desirable that you should increase it to Rs 3 lakhs.

It the payment is made by TPA/ under cash less then Service Tax was already being paid, therefore this seems to be case or double Service Tax.

Let us wait for some more analysis.