TheĀ Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of IndiaĀ (IRDAI)
- TheĀ Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of IndiaĀ (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory agency tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance andĀ re-insuranceĀ industries in India.
- It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, anĀ act of ParliamentĀ passed by theĀ government of India.
- The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- Following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee, in 1999 the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted to regulate and develop the insurance industry and was incorporated in April 2000.
- Objectives of the IRDA include promoting competition to enhance customer satisfaction with increased consumer choice and lower premiums while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market.
It is a six-member body consisting of a chairman, two full-time and three part-time members appointed by the Government of India.
The functions of the IRDAI are defined in Section 14 of the IRDAI Act, 1999,Ā and include:
- Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations
- Protecting policyholder interests
- Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents
- Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors
- Promoting efficiency
- Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry
- Levying fees and other charges
- Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations
- Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938)
- Specifying how books should be kept
- Regulating company investment of funds
- Regulating a margin of solvency
- Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries
- Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee
- Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and regulating professional organisations
- Specifying the percentage of life- and general-insurance business undertaken in the rural or social sector
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