Health insurance is a necessity in the current times of expensive medical treatments. To make health insurance policies more standardized and simple for individuals, the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority of India) had recently announced some changes.

1. In the last month, it was announced that premium towards health insurance policies can be made on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis instead of the existing annual payments method. This will allow policyholders to make payments towards premium in instalments.

2. The free-look period, that is the time period within which the purchaser of the policy can terminate the policy without paying penalties (usually 15 days), will also be smaller if one opts for monthly premium payment in comparison to the annual payment mode.

3. Insurance companies have been permitted by IRDAI to increase or decrease the premium amount by 15 percent to accommodate the modifications, based on loss-ratio numbers. However, "change of premium rates resulting in the increase shall be only after the expiry of three years from the date of launch of approved or modified individual product," IRDAI said.

4. The regulator has allowed insurance companies to increase the maximum age limit filed for insurance policies. The maximum age limit of health insurance policies filed is generally up to 65 years. The companies will need to inform IRDAI about the change on a certification basis.

5. Health insurers can introduce additional distribution channels for particular products without waiting for the regulator's approval. They can also make minor changes to the approved individual insurance products on a certification basis.