The insurance regulator's move to prod insurance companies to sell health products to all age groups, including those above 65, is aimed at increasing penetration though there would be challenges on pricing due to higher risk perception, experts said. While there was no regulatory cap on age for health insurance policies, most companies had an internal policy which did not allow them to sell health insurance products to persons over 65.
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has fined 10 insurance companies, including both the insurance arms of the Bajaj Auto Group, Reliance General, United India, Iffco-Tokio, New India Assurance and Shriram Life for non-compliance with various guidelines. The violations varied from opening branch offices without seeking the regulator's permission to violation of advertisement guidelines and non-fulfilment of social sector obligations.
The Bill -- the Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment) and Validation, Bill 2010 -- addresses concerns by RBI over its autonomy, by including its Governor as vice-chairman of the joint commission instead of making him just a member.
Wait till these are refiled as it will give you added benefits.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Thursday said ten new players have applied for licences to enter into this fast growing sector.The Shriram group, Ranbaxy-promoted Religare Securities and real estate major DLF, have sought regulatory approval for entering the insurance sector, Muralidharan said.
The proposed change would give policyholders the flexibility to switch their insurers, with the benefits of pre-existing diseases covered from the first year of shifting to a new company. At present, pre-existing diseases are covered only after the completion of four years of a policy.
'India has not faced a major terrorism loss since the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.'
'Insurers should devise procedure to ensure that proposals for contracts with high risk customers are concluded after approval of senior management officials. It is, however, emphasised that proposals of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in particular, require approval of senior management, not below head (underwriting)/chief risk officer level,' the regulator stated in a circular issued on Tuesday.
Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding net asset value-guaranteed products, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is standardising the method of calculating NAV under the unit-linked plans of life insurance companies.
"Disclosure norms for insurance coming out with initial public offer will come out next week," Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority chairman J Harinarayan told PTI.
Several life insurance companies in the country are preparing to take on the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India over unit-linked insurance plans.
An Irda official said the idea was to improve the penetration levels of insurance and deepen financial inclusion.
The move comes amid complaints that high returns are being promised by life insurers on ULIPs accompanied by non-existent guaranteed returns.
Raising concern over the underwriting skills of insurance companies to properly price products, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on Monday said it would consider all factors before taking a final decision on de-tariffication of the
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.
Sales of health and pension policies of life insurance companies have taken a beating in June, according to the latest data released by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on Monday proposed major amendments in the Insurance Act,
Most policies attached to co-branded cards to lure customers.
The new Irda chairman's biggest challenge will be to give equal priority to the growth of the industry and customer welfare.
Ever since the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) allowed motor insurance companies to decide premiums in December 2007, car insurance premiums have fallen sharply. The focus, it seems, is clearly on garnering more retail customers.For instance, in March 2007, the premium for a Honda City was Rs 20,760 in Mumbai. But this year it has fallen to Rs 15,770 - a difference of Rs 4,990.
The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's financial services arm Reliance Capital on Friday said it has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its proposed 26 per cent stake sale in Reliance Life Insurance to Japan's Nippon Life.
If Irda's guidelines are implemented, cases of surrendering policies and making these paid-up might decline.
Having got the regulatory clearance to offer add-on insurance policies, non-life insurers are now preparing to launch the same in the coming weeks. Some of the insurers have said, however, that they need some time to launch these products. They say that, unlike commercial products which can be launched straight away, products meant for retail consumers need a certain level of preparation before they are ready for sale.
The information will bring about more transparency by providing prospective policyholders clear information about the amount that has been collected from them as brokerage or commission, an IRDA circular said.
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.
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.
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
Regulator wants all existing products to be refiled.
IndusInd International Holdings chairman Ashok Hinduja on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Reliance Capital, completing the three-year-long resolution process of the debt-ridden company. IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) has transferred the bid amount to the escrow account of the lender, and the takeover of the management from the Administrator will happen on Wednesday.
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.
Soon standalone health insurance companies will be governed by separate regulations
