The tax benefits in the insurance sector have been a debatable topic for every budget session. Keeping the natural calamities that engulfed parts of the country in 2015 in focus, SBI General Insurance, expects the government to pass tax benefits for home insurance as well. The Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 29.

While speaking to dna, Gunjan Ghai, SVP & head marketing and product development, SBI General Insurance, said, "We are hopeful of great announcements from the Union Budget which will keep the growth momentum of the insurance industry going. The recent natural disasters have emphasised the need for home insurance at an individual level, and we believe that an income tax benefit similar to the one passed on for health insurance could lead to greater awareness and acceptability of home insurance as a risk product."

Further, "Tax rebates on critical illness cum accidental death policies could be dynamically linked to the taxable income of the individual where premiums paid should be given tax benefits for coverage up to five times the annual taxable income. The government could give tax rebates across all types of policies bought or renewed online".

"A further exemption in the limit of section 80D for health insurance policies could be raised to a higher limit, provided the policy was bought or renewed online. We also hope that the government would announce incentives for insurance companies which generate a certain percentage of their insurance policies online from rural areas. This could either be specifically targeted on motor OD/TP policies or health insurance policies", he added.