ISLAMABAD: The Secur­ities and Exchange Comm­ission of Pakistan (SECP) has registered the country’s first third party administrator (TPA) for health insurance services.

TPA is a business unit which, through efficient technological processes, provides effective claim administration on behalf of insurers.

The SECP had recently issued ‘Third Party Administrators for Health Insurance Regulations 2015’ for developing health insurance business in Pakistan.

In line with its quest to develop the health insurance sector, the SECP allowed M/s Tawasul HealthCare TPA (Private) Limited to provide services as the first registered and licensed TPA of Pakistan.

It is understood that the grant of registration to the first TPA in Pakistan shall pave way for the other interested parties to start business in Pakistan, the SECP said.

It will benefit the health insurance sector of the country by manifold through more improved, organised and swift services to health insurance policyholders, it added.

The TPA regulations regulate the ‘outsourcing’ of certain tasks and administration activities related to health insurance which can be performed in a much efficient and low-cost manner and thus result in the overall profitability of the business with improved customer services for the insurers and medical service providers.

The health insurance market in Pakistan is in infancy as compared with other sub-sectors within the insurance industry.

Less-developed health and hospital infrastructure, low level of disposable incomes and severe lack of awareness are considered to be the reasons for an under-developed health insurance sector, resulting in poor level of health insurance penetration in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2015