22/05/2013
Insurance broking to become more flexible with new norms
The insurance broking business will become more professional and flexible with the new norms coming into force, according to those in the sector.A recent report by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) committee on insurance broking, chaired by Suresh Mathur, suggested certain amendments to the broking regulations. While the ceiling on business from one client has been increased to 50 per cent, the period of re-application for licence by a broker has been set at after one year from the date of cancellation.
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11/05/2013
Offer maturity benefits on micro-policies: IRDA
The insurance regulator, Irda, wants risk cover providers to offer maturity benefits on every micro-insurance plan to make it attractive. It may allow business correspondents of banks to sell policies in the country's rural belt to push the product. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is revising the micro-insurance guidelines to include this proposal and boost sales. Micro-insurance, which is being sold to the economically weaker section, has seen a steady decline since 2010. "We need simple and cost-effective policies with some reasonable returns to push micro-insurance," said Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, member (life), Irda.
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09/05/2013
New guidelines for banks doing insurance broking
Banks wishing to become insurance brokers might have to segregate a broking arm, which would be an independent accountable unit.
The report of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's committee on insurance broking says the bank broking unit shall have at least two persons with the requisite qualifications, mandatory theoretical and practical training and having passed the examinations required by the examining body.
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09/05/2013
Index-linked products may go off the shelf
Index-linked insurance products (Ilips) are expected to remain absent from the product portfolio of life insurers from October onwards.
In tandem with the new product guidelines, Ilips would not be considered as a separate product category. Life insurers have approached the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) to allow the sale of these products post the October deadline.Ilips are those insurance products whose benefits/returns are linked to benchmark indices.
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08/05/2013
IRDA wants LIC in energy insurance pool for Iran
Insurance watchdog has suggested Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) should join the energy insurance pool proposed by the government to provide cover to domestic firms for processing Iranian crude oil.Suggestion comes after general insurance companies and oil firms raised concerns that the proposed Rs 2,000 crore energy insurance pool may not be sufficient to provide risk cover to Indian refineries processing Iranian crude.
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03/05/2013
Irda head, life insurers discuss dip in growth
Chief executive and actuaries of the 24 life insurance companies had a meeting on Thursday with T S Vijayan, chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda). It was his first meeting with heads of this segment of the sector after becoming the head of Irda, in late February.
Officials said the discussion centred around the slowing growth of the life insurance segment and what to do about it. The meet discussed the traditional product guidelines and procedures in implementation, new pension norms and means of expanding portfolios.Vijayan discussed what needs to be done to boost insurance penetration and density. Insurance penetration, measured as the percentage of insurance premiums to gross domestic product, was 4.1 per cent in 2011, compared to 5.1 per cent in 2010.
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13/04/2013
FM asks IRDA to increase insurance density
Finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday urged the insurance regulator to focus more on its developmental role to increase the insurance penetration in the country, which is well below its need and potential. "For the first time we have a former insurer as the head of IRDA and you have a mandate to develop the insurance industry. While regulations are important, development of the industry is equally important," he said referring to TS Vijayan, the new chief of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
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11/04/2013
Reinsurance norms will ‘deter new investors’
The limits set by the regulator to maximise retention of reinsurance business within the country will constrain insurers’ freedom, says Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA).GFIA has 32 member-associations which represent insurers that account for around 88 per cent of total insurance premiums worldwide.
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04/04/2013
Irda yearly cap on new products to five restrictive: Life insurers
With the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) asking insurers to file a ‘product planner’ every year, life insurers have said the regulator’s proposal to limit the number of new products every year to five is inadequate, as product categories are varied and they would need to re-file products.
In a circular to life insurance company chief executives, Irda had asked them to indicate the number of products they planned to file each quarter. It had said if the number of these products exceeded five in a financial year, the insurer should furnish the supporting market research and product-wise persistency for the 13th, the 25th and the 37th months as on April 30 of the previous year. For 2013-14, insurers have been asked to submit the product planner by April 30.
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02/04/2013
Non-life insurers look at more premium increase
Vehicle owners may be heaving a sigh of relief as third party (TP) premium rates went up only 20 per cent and not 35-60 per cent as originally proposed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda). But, insurance companies say there should be more hikes in premiums to sustain the business in the motor segment. The industry was batting for increase in the range of 50-80 per cent.Last month, Irda had proposed to increase motor TP premiums rates, by an average of 35 per cent for vehicles, including private cars and commercial vehicles from April 1, 2013. However, it recently announced an overall percentage increase in the motor third party portfolio of 18.9 per cent from April 1. This decision was taken keeping in view the interests of the customers and need of the insurance firms.
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