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.
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 companies are expected to get greater leeway in investing policyholders' funds with the addition of mortgage-backed securities to the list of approved investments.
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.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority has capped the charges from the fifth year to around four per cent of the annual premium paid.
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.
After rise in duties, third-party motor insurance rates set to increase premiums 5 - 10 per cent.
However, policyholders will have to stay invested for the entire period of the scheme to get these benefits.
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.
Irda asks insurance companies to increase risk cover from July 1
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Neeraj Prakash, MD, Shriram General Insurance, explains how new measures proposed in the Motor Vehicles Act can smoothen the lives of the insured and insurer and how the government plans to make more vehicles owners buy insurance.
Irda nod to policies with flexible premium, sum assured and tenure.
The government is unlikely to come up with the IPO of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in the current financial year ending March 2022, as the valuation of the state-owned behemoth is taking more than anticipated time, and the preparatory work is still far from complete. There are still some issues that need to be addressed with regard to the valuation of LIC, a senior official of one of the merchant bankers said. Even after the valuation, there are several regulatory processes that have concluded, the official said.
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.
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.
Currently, the select committee is considering the Bill.
IRDA said it wanted to seek a legal mandate jointly with Sebi, but the market regulator had reservations.
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.
The merged entity will have a combined market share of 6.4 per cent in the non-life insurance industry with 308 branches in the country. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and the entire process is expected to be completed in nine months.
MetLife has signed a MoU with University of Delhi, to launch "Yuvodaya" a special life insurance education and training programme for the University of Delhi students.
Development officers and agents of LIC are promoting Money Plus claiming to offer astronomical returns
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.
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.
The board of directors of ING Vysya Bank, at its meeting held on May 28 have approved the bank's sale of 14.87 per cent stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company to Gujarat Ambuja Cements for Rs 60.9 crore (Rs 609 million).
HDFC Bank on Tuesday said RBI has given approval to the group to acquire up to 9.5 per cent stake each in six lenders, including ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.
"There will be a spectrum of guarantees. For instance, there could be a guarantee on premiums paid or sum insured or rate of return or annuity," said an Irda official.
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.
It is likely health insurance premiums may actually fall, at least for the individual segment
Irda chairman C S Rao speaks about the need for detariffing, pitfalls to be avoided and the impact of detariffing on the insured.
