I. Annual Filing of Compliance Status- a) All insurers are required to file a Report on status of compliance with the C G Guidelines on an annual basis w.e.f. the Financial Year 2010-11. This report shall be filed within 90 days from the end of the Financial year (i.e., before 30th June). The report should be filed in the format as placed in Annexure-1. b) Clause 9 of the CG Guidelines requires confirmation of disclosures made in the Annual Accounts. In such instances, where the finalization of Annual Accounts extends beyond 90 days of the close of the financial year, the status on disclosure in the Financial Statements as required under the aforementioned clause may be made within 15 days of adoption of the Annual Accounts by the Board of Directors of the insurers. This is in line with the stipulations issued by IRDA vide Circular No. IRDA/F&A/013/2005-06 dated 9th June, 2005.

Based on the detailed scrutiny of the Technical & Commercial Proposals submitted by the Shortlisted IT firms and further evaluation based on Combined Quality Cum Cost Based System (CQCCBS), M/s L & T Infotech has been formally selected as an Implementation Agency for the implementation of Business Analytics Project.

The objective of creating an insurance repository is to provide policyholders a facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes, modifications and revisions in the insurance policy with speed and accuracy in order to bring about efficiency, transparency and cost reduction in the issuance and maintenance of insurance policies.

IRDA requests for proposal from reputed Firms/Organizations to report on industry-wide trends of fraudulent behaviour affecting the insurance industry. The detailed RFP document is attached (.pdf document) .Last date for receipt of BIDS is 20th May 2011 by 3:00 PM

The pay revision of the officers and employees has been carried out by the Public Sectors Insurance companies in the year 2010-11 and Government by Gazette, Notification dated May 24, 2010 has revised upward maximum limit for Gratuity under “Payment of Gratuity Act 1972” from Rs. 3,50,000/- to Rs. 10,00,000. The above factors will lead to the increase in liability on account of gratuity which in turn will impact the insurers profitability significantly as they need to provide the same in the financial year 20010-11. This will cause a strain on their solvency as well as on their performance results. Ref:IRDA/F&A/CIR/ACT/069/04/2011 Date:18-04-2011

Owning a vehicle would now pinch your pockets even more, with third-party motor insurance premiums set to rise by up to 65 per cent for two-wheelers, private cars and heavy load carriers from April 25. The premiums are being revised after a gap of four years, the sector watchdog Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said, adding, from now onwards the third-party motor insurance premium rates would be revised annually.

IRDA/NL/NTFN/MOTP/066/04/2011 – By virtue of the power vested in the Authority under Section 14(2) (i) of the IRDA Act, 1999, it is hereby notified that with effect from 25.04.2011, the rates of premium applicable to Motor Third Party Liability Insurance business shall be as set out in Annexure-I to this notification. The Authority has noted that Motor Third Party premiums were revised in the past at 4/5 year intervals. Such long intervals between rate revisions cast an avoidable strain on policyholders as well as on the insurance companies. Premiums need to be reviewed regularly depending upon the average claims which have been awarded by the various courts, frequency of claims for each class of vehicle and inflation amongst other factors. During the consultation process, certain stakeholders had also suggested that an annual review would ease the burden of adjusting to changes in premia consequent to changes in these financial parameters.

IRDA/IT/CIR/MISC/056/04/2011 Date:08-04-2011 Based on the detailed scrutiny of the Technical Proposals submitted by the various IT firms, subsequent clarifications and also based on the evaluation of the presentations made before the Technical Committee, the following IT firms have been short-listed for the Phase-III of Business Analytics Tendering Process- i.e.) Financial Bidding

Tele-callers of insurance products should be trained according to the syllabus prescribed by IRDA and they should inform clients that the call is being recorded and that the client is entitled to a voice copy, according to the new guidelines issued by the insurance watchdog. “The training shall be for duration of not less than 25 hours as per syllabus to be prescribed by the IRDA in matters related to regulations, disclosures, ethical conduct of business and specific instructions to be complied with while making the calls,” the Insurance Regulation and Development Authority (IRDA) said.

Distance Marketing by Brokers- (i) Insurance brokers shall not exclusively promote the products of any particular insurer, and shall suggest the best available product in the market that fits the needs of the client. (ii) The price comparison charts that are displayed shall be up to date and reflect a true picture of all the available and suitable products under each category. (iii) Insurers shall not pay the brokers any remuneration other than brokerage. No payments by any name shall be made by insurers to brokers or their related parties towards infrastructure or any account other than brokerage on the policies solicited or procured over distance mode. (iv) Insurers shall specifically identify the proposals procured by brokers over distance mode and obtain all relevant records pertaining to such policies. Insurers shall produce such records before the Authority in case of dispute involving alleged violation of breach of conduct by the broker. (v) Brokers may outsource tele-calling activities to Telemarketers.