Seasoned bureaucrat C S Rao on Tuesday took over as chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and spoke of the exciting potential in the insurance industry with a huge market waiting to be tapped.
An interview with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) Chairman J Hari Narayan. He is charting the road map for strengthening the regulatory framework and also dealing with the turmoil in the US.
The old ULIP lacked both and individuals did not have an inkling about either even after taking the ULIP.
After setting stiff norms for unit-linked insurance plans, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is planning to cap charges on traditional products within three months.
Finance ministry asks Irda to make this and other changes while clearing these products.
Such products in insurance parlance are called acturial-funded products. The ban would require Aviva Life Insurance to withdraw all its 14 ULIP products, while Bajaj Allianz one of its ULIPs called Capital Unit Gain.
Insurance companies can invest more in infrastructure, housing sectors. Irda's move has come at a time when the shares of most of the infrastructure and housing companies are trading at their year lows on the exchanges and the sector itself is facing a dearth of financing.
Insurance and investment are two different needs. Then, there are Ulip pension plans with no sum assured. No wonder, there is confusion.
The government on Monday said that the two regulators, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, have agreed to maintain the status quo that existed before market regulator's ban on 14 life insurers from raising funds for unit-linked schemes.
RBI Governor cautioned against more volatility.
Insurance companies are expected to get greater leeway in investing policyholders' funds with the addition of mortgage-backed securities to the list of approved investments.
Market-linked products have been driving the growth of private insurers for some time now. But, the market volatility has forced the companies to re-think their strategies, reports Subrata Panda.
Life Insurance Corporation of India has said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's requirement that extra 50 per cent solvency margins above regulatory norms be maintained was unfair and unwarranted.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided against filing a joint application before a court to resolve its dispute with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority over unit-linked insurance plans.
However, policyholders will have to stay invested for the entire period of the scheme to get these benefits.
With losses mounting in health insurance portfolio due to higher claims, Oriental Insurance Company is in the process of hiking premium rates for its Individual Mediclaim Policy by upto 30 per cent for people in the higher age group.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has clarified that only the premium collected for providing health cover in the case of unit-linked health insurance policies will be eligible for tax benefits.
Regulator plans minimum death benefit at five times the annual premium.
Highest NAV guarantee products accounted for a fifth of Ulip sales after pension plan sales dried up following the stringent norms on Ulips from September 2010.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority had approved a minimum of two products per company filed in accordance with new unit-linked insurance plans norms, Irda Chairman J Hari Narayan said in a press conference here on Wednesday.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority has capped the charges from the fifth year to around four per cent of the annual premium paid.
Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Capital Ltd is all set to start life insurance business with regulator IRDA approving the acquisition of Chennai-based AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Ltd.
Irda asks insurance companies to increase risk cover from July 1
ULIPs have become popular amongst investors, especially those who do not have the time to track the markets but want to earn higher returns on maturity.
After rise in duties, third-party motor insurance rates set to increase premiums 5 - 10 per cent.
Hemendra Kothari, the former chairman of DSP Merrill Lynch, is set to acquire Ambuja Cements' stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance for around Rs 190 crore.
The GST to be implemented from April 1, 2016, will increase the premiums.
The free pricing regime in the general insurance industry has come into force, with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority clearing all the revised rates filed by general insurers.
Term insurance policy provides a stated benefit only upon the holder's death, provided the death occurs within the policy period. There will be no stated benefits if the policy holder outlives the policy period.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has tightened financial disclosure norms by asking general insurers to give details of the reserves maintained for claims that have been paid but not reported adequately in the books of accounts.
Irda nod to policies with flexible premium, sum assured and tenure.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (Irda) is planning to cap the charges on universal life policies, or ULPs. These have almost replaced unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) in terms of new business. Ulips, which used to account for around 80 per cent of the segment, lost their sheen after the regulator brought in stringent norms from September 1.
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, in an impromptu chat with reporters, sided with Sebi, while Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cited the spat to make a case for setting up a Financial Development and Stability Council (FSDC).
In what would make unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) more investor friendly, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) on Tuesday proposed to cap surrender charges and standardise the revival period for polices that had lapsed.
Insurance regulator IRDA on Tuesday said it will decide its future course of action on the ULIP controversy in the next two days keeping in mind the government's directive to seek a legally binding decision from a court.
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