In a bid to assure those affected by torrential rains in Maharashtra, insurance regulator IRDA on Thursday said public and private general insurers will not withdraw flood cover for homes and commercial establishments.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has constituted a seven-member committee on health insurance for senior citizens.
According to the IRDA's data in 2007-08, the health insurance segment was estimated to be around Rs 5,152 crore, with only 2 per cent of the total population being covered. Realising the potential and advantages -- the segment has been growing at 37 per cent since 2002 -- both life and non-life insurers are offering health insurance products. Health insurance in 2007-08 accounted for 0.2 per cent of the individual regular premium for life insurance companies in India.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital markets regulator, restrained 14 insurance entities from raising fresh money through Ulips - Unit Linked Insurance Products.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) Chairman J Hari Narayan on Thursday said overall growth in the insurance business this financial year would be "encouraging".
The incentive of the insurance advisor is definitely not in favour of the individual wanting an insurance policy.
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) is likely to broaden the definition of infrastructure to include more sectors. The move, being discussed with insurance companies, is aimed at enabling insurers to get access to more papers to invest in and diversify their portfolio.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, in a circular to insurance companies, said it had been receiving many complaints that claims were being rejected by the insurers on the ground of delayed intimation and submission of documents.
Buying a cover at a late age is expensive; the benefits, too, are limited.
Insurance regulator IRDA on Thursday asked life insurers not to levy any charge on customers if they surrender their policies from fifth year.
In what may translate into lower premium rates for traditional pension and annuity policyholders, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority today said the capital requirement for these segments would be lowered from the end of this month.
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority plans to introduce guidelines soon on transfer (also called assignment) of insurance policies after the Insurance Act is amended.
After its successful launch of telecom business, Reliance is likely to revive its plans to foray into yet another green-field area -- life insurance -- by March this year.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on Wednesday announced that it would lift pricing controls on motor insurance, along with other lines of business currently under tariff, with effect from January 1, 2007.
Firm offers no-pain switch from company cover.
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India has clamped down on excessive discounts on fire
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) is planning to issue a notice to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to stop the latter from allowing policy holders to nominate "strangers" (those who are not close relatives) and religious institutions as beneficiaries of life policy claims.
The premiums for third-party motor insurance may rise by 50-80 per cent this year.
IRDA eased norms by allowing PSUs and private companies with a capital of Rs 0.1-3 crore to bargain for a special discount of 5% in exchange of agency commission or brokers remuneration, when they cover their risks directly with a general insurer.
Insurance companies may soon face goods and services tax (GST) audits as tax authorities plan a "deep dive" into their business practices to check for the possibility of a raft of tax-linked irregularities. Several insurance companies are being probed for wrongly availing of the input tax credit without the underlying supply of goods and services based on fake invoices generated by their channel partners and intermediaries. "We want to deep dive into the overall business and see if there are further taxation issues besides commissions, which are already being investigated," a senior official of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said.
In a major clamp down on insurers promising high returns to lure consumers, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has mandated that companies cannot project more than 10 per cent return on investments in their policies.
Irdai on Friday extended the 'use and file' procedure for the most of the life insurance products, thereby allowing insurers to launch new products without prior approval of the regulator. This comes days after Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) extending similar relaxations to health insurance products as well as general insurance covers. In a press release, Irdai said that in its continuous endeavour towards the reform agenda taken up towards having a fully insured India, it has extended the 'use and file' procedure for most of the life insurance products.
Though exposure draft proposed 35-60% hike, Irda raised it only 19%.
The sectoral regulator Irda on Wednesday said the initial public float guidelines for the insurance industry will be ready by early October.
Life insurers, at present, are allowed to invest 50 per cent of their funds in government securities, 15 per cent in infrastructure-related projects, and the balance 35 per cent in other-than-approved instruments for traditional policies.
Here's a quick look at the likely changes proposed for selling unit linked insurance plans from September 1, 2010 and how they will impact investors.
'India has not faced a major terrorism loss since the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.'
The Supreme Court has ruled that public sector insurance companies cannot refuse to provide medical cover policies to those suffering from pre-existing diseases and said such an action was arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional.
Like dematerialisation of securities, it will offer dual benefits of cost-effectiveness and convenience.
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
Insurance policy document will become digital and paperless like shares in the coming year and the policyholders would be saved from preserving the physical copies of their insurance policies.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has permitted Sahara Group to enter life-insurance segment, and issued 12 letters of intent to insurance broking entities, including three having foreign equity stake, to conduct business in India.
