India@100 – Insurance for all 

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

Press Note – 06.05.2022

India@100 – Insurance for all 

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is continuously engaging with the stakeholders of the insurance industry in order to set out a reforms agenda for increasing insurance penetration and facilitating sustainable growth of the industry.

Shri Debasish Panda, Chairperson, IRDAI, along with Whole-Time Members of the Authority met Non-Executive Chairpersons of Non-Life and Life Insurance Companies on 05th and 06th May 2022 at IRDAI Headquarters, Hyderabad. This comes after the Chairman meeting with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Non-Life and Life Insurance Companies on 06th and 07th April 2022 at Mumbai.

In the interactive sessions, IRDAI displayed firm commitment to carry out reforms which will lead to the objective of “Insurance for all” by 2047.

These reforms, among others, include promoting ease of doing business by encouraging new insurance players, allowing niche players in insurance, relaxing renewal norms for intermediaries, product certification by insurers, time-bound approvals, administrative flexibility, fast-track approvals for investment proposals, facilitating Insur Tech and distribution agility. IRDAI also has plan to make the regulations lighter and reduce the compliance burden on the insurers.

Additionally, the need for risk based capital and solvency, convergence to Ind-AS, rationalizing expenses of management, developing talent pool, updating investment norms and sustainable growth of industry were also deliberated. Revamping of the grievance redressal mechanisms is also on IRDAI’s agenda.

To address the insurance protection gap, the importance of engagement of all the stakeholders was highlighted. It was proposed to revamp the role and functioning of the Life Insurance and General Insurance Councils, to make them more vibrant bodies. Role of Insurance Information Bureau of India (IIB) in supporting data and tech-driven insurance solutions was also discussed.