The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on Thursday allowed portability of health insurance products. It will be applicable for all existing and new contracts from July.
The healthcare industry on Friday asked the government to revamp the foreign direct investment and capital adequacy norms for health insurance entities to make world-class medical treatment available to Indians and make the country a healthcare hub i
In the April 2012-February 2013 period, the life sector's industry's new business premium collections fell 6.1 per cent, compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Regulator wants all existing products to be refiled.
India's insurance industry is set for a makeover as it seeks to survive and grow in a changed environment that dawned on September 1. With a three-month spat over who will regulate unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) settled, the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (Irda) in July announced sweeping changes to the way insurance companies do business.
According to a source close to the development, the investment advisory committee of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has suggested far-reaching changes to make the investment norms more flexible, while adhering to the existing prudential investment guidelines.
According to sources close to the development, major domestic banks and institutions such as State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of India (BoI) and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) have sought the permission of their respective regulators - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) to participate in the equity derivatives market (F&O segment) as traders.
Soon standalone health insurance companies will be governed by separate regulations
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority also favoured portability in the health insurance space, a move that will pave the way for the consumers to switch from one insurer to the other for their mediclaim policies.
The JV, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance (ETLI), will soon apply to the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority to get its nod to start operations, which may take eight months to one year time from now, Edelweiss Capital's Chairman Rashesh Shah said.
Priority will be to maintain a balance between sector's growth and consumer welfare.
One year after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's (Irda) allowed insurance companies to invest in venture capital (VC) funds, no insurer has shown interest in funding VCs.
With a view to provide flexibility to insurance companies, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has said that life insurers will be allowed to change the premium quotes from what they have filed with the regulator for group business.
In its draft guidelines, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has asked the country's life insurance companies to refile their existing products and withdraw the same by September 30.
They want to take advantage of the few days remaining before the IRDA's new guidelines on Ulips come into force. What has also added to the rush is the fall in the sale of big-ticket, single-premium covers and Ulips in the current financial year as individuals are holding on to big-ticket purchases, especially where the returns are linked to the equity markets. For insurers, big-ticket policies mean a lower lapse rate and it translates into higher commission for agents.
The unclaimed funds within the life insurance sector are higher from policies sold by agents as against other channels like bancassurance or a digital platform, said analysts and officials from insurance companies. Unclaimed life insurance funds refer to the proceeds of insurance policies including death or survival benefits not claimed by the beneficiary or the policyholder. Bancassurance means selling an insurance product through banks.
Says market regulator's order is misconceived and not in public interest.
Is your insurance company taking you for a ride by delaying or repudiating in settling your claim? You need not spend sleepless nights now. The Insurance ombudsman office will take care of the problem.
LIC and GIC employees will go on strike on Tuesday to lodge their emphatic protest against the 'ill-advised' two Bills the Government of India introduced in Parliament on Monday. The office bearers of Insurance Employees' associations said the increase in FDI limit under external pressure results in increased access to private foreign capital over domestic savings, thereby weakening the public sector LIC of India.
After a slump in sales in January, life insurance companies saw 36 per cent rise in new premium income during February.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on Wednesday issued a 26-point guideline for on-line agent training institutes which stipulates at least 100 hours of training in life or non-life insurance.
In a huge relief for senior citizens, the entry age for health insurance has been extended to 65 years. But, will it come at a cost?
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
"We had two meetings with the Sebi and couple of more is required (to decide on final guideline on IPO)," IRDA chairman J Hari Narayan said at a CII event.
RBI unveiled a few weeks ago its discussion paper on the proposed holding company structure for financial conglomerates, there were no murmurs of protest from any of the other regulators.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority expects decline in premium rates of fire, engineering and motor own damage covers once insurers are given the freedom to price these businesses from 2007.
Being a member of the World Trade Organisation and General Agreement on Trade in Services, India will have to lift restrictions on foreign capital in insurance.
India's high cost of capital due to relatively shallow corporate bond markets, limited institutional investor depth, sovereign risk premia, and regulatory restrictions on capital flows, is a constraint on private investment and long-run growth, the Economic Survey, authored by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran, said.
Players seek separate deduction for long term savings, or alternatively hike in exemption limit U/s 80 C; also seek longer period of carry forward of losses under Income Tax Act and also to increase FDI limit from 26% to 49%
