What is Regulatory changes in Indian insurance

IRDAI on December 05, 2022, has replaced the IRDAI (Other Forms of Capital) Regulations, 2015 with IRDAI (Other Forms of Capital) Regulations, 2022 (‘Revised Regulations’) which regulates the issuance of preference share capital and subordinate debt (‘Other Forms of Capital’) by an insurer. The Revised Regulations will be in force for 3 (three) years unless reviewed earlier. The key changes introduced include the following:

i. The requirement of prior IRDAI approval requirement for raising Other Forms of Capital has been removed.

ii. An insurer may exercise a call option on such securities without the prior approval of IRDAI after 5(five) years of issue provided that after the exercise of the call option the solvency margin of the insurer is not, at least 20% above the prescribed control level of solvency applicable to such insurer.

iii. The cap for raising Other Forms of Capital has been increased from 25% to 50% of the paid-up equity capital of the insurer subject to an overall cap of 50% of the net worth.

iv. An insurer is not permitted to invest in Other Forms of Capital issued by another insurer with a common promoter.

The IRDA was incorporated as a statutory body. Following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, in 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. Insurance regulation business ensures the government’s oversight of the insurance market to ensure that those working in the business are treated fairly and professionally, to avoid the market from crumbling, and to democratise insurance.

What is the Importance of Regulation of Business?

Regulation of Insurance Business is very vital as it performs various functions like :
👉🏻Protecting the policyholder’s interests.
👉🏻Regulation of Insurance business assists in the organised expansion of the insurance business for the greater good of society.
👉🏻An insurance company’s registration certificate can be granted, renewed, revoked, modified, or suspended.
👉🏻Regulation of the Insurance business helps in protecting the policyholder in topics like policy grant, claim settlement, policyholder nominee selection, surrender policy value, and other policy terms and conditions.
👉🏻Provide long-term financing to help the country’s economy grow.
👉🏻Ensure that policymakers are held to high standards of ethics and competence.
👉🏻Ensure that legitimate claims are processed quickly

.👉🏻By establishing a grievance redress forum for policyholders, you can prevent malpractice and policy fraud.
👉🏻In the financial markets, promote insurance fairness and openness.
👉🏻To create a dependable management system that ensures high standards and financial

👉🏻stability is looked after by policy givers.

What is the Regulation of the Insurance Business in India?

In India, the regulation of Insurance Business is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) regulates the insurance industry in India. The regulation of the Insurance Business in India is very appropriate. IRDAIIt is a statutory body established under an Act of Parliament, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Law, 1999 (IRDAI Act 1999), for overall supervision and development of the insurance industry in India. The Authority regulates the insurance business in India and supervises the operations of the country’s Life and General Insurance companies. The IRDA’s major goal is to defend policyholder interests while also regulating the insurance business. Read on to discover the peak body of insurance carriers in India and its many responsibilities and roles in the Indian insurance business. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an independent regulatory organisation that safeguards policyholder interests. They monitor the insurance sector’s development in India, as well as the conditions that various insurances policies impose, to ensure that it continues to grow at a rapid pace

IRDAI CIRCULAR ON ‘COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC RELATED INSTRUCTIONS TO LIFE INSURENCE’

According to such instruction, the IRDAI has covered four issues:

👉🏻Functioning of offices
👉🏻Grace period for payment of premiums
👉🏻Claims
👉🏻Periodic reports.
About partial or full closure offices, the IRDAI has indicated providers of life insurance policy for notifying policyholders by e-mail, SMS, Press releases etc. apart from notifications on the branch office. Life insurers were additionally directed to showcase on their website, a list of non-functioning offices, and alternate arrangements for servicing policyholders, contact details for any emergencies, information on Covid-19 death claims and specific information on the admissibility of claims under health insurance contracts. The IRDAI also allowed an extra grace period of 1 month for premium payments of all life insurance policies, due in March 2020. Insurers have also been asked to maintain data on Covid-19 claims, separately which have to be submitted to the IRDAI when asked for. For superior monitoring of Covid-19 scenario, insurers have been directed further by IRDAI to submit reports on offices closed partially/ fully and other steps taken, every fortnight.