As the finance ministry begins drafting the budget for the financial year 2017-18, several experts from the financial sector proposed their suggestions on the changes they would like to see in the upcoming budget. Experts believe that these changes in the budget will increase the accessibility and usability of insurance for the common man.
Bhargav Dasgupta, Managing Director, ICICI Lombard, emphasised on increasing the tax deduction limit for health insurance. As per Mr. Dasgupta, the penetration of non-life insurance sector in the national GDP is only 0.7%, which is worrying. Despite the country experiencing varied incidents like illness eruptions, road accidents and natural disasters, a majority of the population remains out of the range of any form of general insurance.
Given the increasing medical inflation and the emergence of lifestyle related diseases, which pose a serious threat to the country’s population, the current tax deduction limit for health insurance premium must be elevated to at least ₹75,000. In fact, other forms of non-life insurance like home insurance and Personal accident cover should also be given tax benefits in the upcoming budget.
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