Insurance regulator IRDAI will seek the views of both life and general insurance councils before taking a decision on allowing life insurance companies to offer health plans.

“The life insurance companies are asking permission to offer indemnity-based health plans. We will be writing to the Life Insurance Council and the General Insurance Council in a week or so to seek their views on the matter. We will examine their recommendations and take a call soon,” IRDAI member (life) K. Ganesh said on the sidelines of a programme organised by the MCCI here.

Non-life companies feel that allowing life insurers to offer health plans will increase the competition further in the market, he said.

At present, a person can buy indemnity-based health plans from non-life insurers, including standalone health insurance companies.

Ganesh said insurers have been in the process of revising their products according to the guidelines of the regulator. The insurers have been given time till January 31, 2020, to complete the process of revision of their products, he said.

“We have come out with product regulations and asked them to examine their current products in the light of our guidelines of product revisions. Some of their products will undergo change and there would not be any change required for some products,' he said. ends