According to sources the lack of transparency and the complaints of mis-selling policies by the companies have forced the regulator to act tough and keep issuing new guidelines and the latest relates to travel insurance policies particularly sold by most of the online ticketing apps.
Furthermore ordinary customers are attracted by the kind of discounts etc. offered by these apps for booking their travel tickets and hotel stays. Meanwhile presenting the final checkout form, these apps have a default option where the travel insurance gets automatically ticked and the customer is hardly aware that he or she has chosen that option. Perhaps it is only later that they realize they have paid the premium for a travel insurance policy they might never have wanted in the first place.
Moreover IRDAI’s new regulations, which have already come into force from october 1, mandate that any travel services provider cannot pre-select the insurance option on their app. Further for domestic travelers, the policy cannot be issued before 90 days of the journey date while for international travel, such time restrictions won’t apply. The new rules further mandate that the customer must be made aware of the full terms and conditions of the travel insurance policy being issued to him/her and the final option of saying yes or no will remain with the customer.
