Law of Insurance in India

 India insurance industry is expected to reach US$ 280 billion by 2020.

 The Insurance Act, 1938 [ commentary]

• Insurance taxation
• Claim settlement
• Insurance Consumer protection
• Indian Insurance Market
• Insurabce Company Profiles

National Development:-

1. National Health Protection Scheme will be launched under Ayushman Bharat to provide coverage of up to Rs 500,000 (US$ 7,723) to more than 100 million vulnerable families. The scheme will be launched on September 25, 2018.
2. Over 47.9 million famers were benefitted under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in 2017-18.
3. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) plans to issue redesigned initial public offering (IPO) guidelines for insurance companies in India, which are to looking to divest equity through the IPO route.
4. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will set up a joint venture with Ebix Inc to build a robust insurance distribution network in the country

Regulator

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999[PDF]

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

Functions and Duties of IRDA

Section 14 of the IRDA Act, 1999 lays down the duties, powers, and functions of IRDA.
Registering and regulating insurance companies
Protecting policyholders’ interests
Licensing and establishing norms for insurance intermediaries
Promoting professional organisations in insurance
Regulating and overseeing premium rates and terms of non-life insurance covers
Specifying financial reporting norms of insurance companies
Regulating investment of policyholders’ funds by insurance companies
Ensuring the maintenance of solvency margin by insurance companies
Ensuring insurance coverage in rural areas and of vulnerable sections of society

IRDA (Preparation of Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report of Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2000

Tariff Advisory Committee of IRDA

It controls and regulates the rates, advantages, terms and conditions offered by insurers
in the general insurance business.

Regulations framed under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA) Act, 1999 are:
1) IRDA (Member of Insurance Advisory Committee) Regulations, 2000
2) IRDA (Appointment of Insurance Advisory Committee) Regulations, 2000
3) IRDA (The Insurance Advisory Committee) (Meeting) Regulations, 2000
4) IRDA (Appointed Actuary ) Regulations, 2000
5) IRDA (Actuarial Report and Abstract) Regulations, 2000
6) IRDA (Licensing of Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2000
7) IRDA (Assets, Liabilities and Solvency Margin of Insurers) Regulations, 2000
8) IRDA (General Insurance-Reinsurance) Regulations, 2000
9) IRDA (Registration of Indian Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2000
10)IRDA (Insurance Advertisements and Disclosure) Regulations, 2000
11)IRDA (Meetings) Regulations, 2000
12)IRDA (Investment) Regulations, 2000
13)IRDA (Conditions of Service of Officers and other Employees) Regulations, 2000
14)IRDA (Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (Licensing, Professional
Requirements and Code of Conduct)) Regulations, 2000
15)IRDA (Life Insurance – Reinsurance) Regulations, 2000
16)IRDA (Third Party Administrators – Health Services) Regulations, 2001

17)IRDA (Re-Insurance Advisory Committee) Regulations, 2001
18)IRDA (Preparation of Financial Statements and Auditor‘s Report of Insurance
Companies) Regulations, 2002
19)IRDA (Protection of Policyholders‘ Interests) Regulations, 2002
20)IRDA (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2002
21)IRDA (Obligations of Insurers to Rural and Social Sectors) Regulations, 2002
22)IRDA (Licensing of Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2002
23)IRDA (Manner of Receipt of Premium) Regulations, 2002
24)IRDA (Distribution of Surplus) Regulations, 2002
25)IRDA (Qualification of Actuary) Regulations, 2004
26)IRDA (Micro-Insurance) Regulations, 2005
27)IRDA (Maternity Leave) Regulations, 2005
28)IRDA (Reinsurance Cessions) Notification
29)IRDA (Sharing of Database for Distribution of Insurance Products) Regulations,
2010
30)IRDA (Treatment of Discontinued Linked Insurance Policies) Regulations, 2010
31)IRDA(Scheme for Amalgamation and Transfer of General Insurance Business)
Regulations 2011
32)IRDA(Issuance of Capital by Life Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2011

IRDA revises its Corporate Governance Guidelines for Insurance

Securities Appellate Tribunal[ appeal preferred under section 110 of the Act]

Insurance (Appeal to Securities Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 2016.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal has only one bench which sits at Mumbai.

Judgments and Orders

Securities Appellate Tribunal is a statutory body established under the provisions of Section 15K of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to hear and dispose of appeals against orders passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India or by an adjudicating officer under the Act and to exercise jurisdiction, powers, and authority conferred on the Tribunal by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.

 Under Section 110. Appeal to Securities Appellate Tribunal

(1) Any person aggrieved–
(a)by an order of the Authority made on and after the commencement of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015, or under this Act, the rules or regulations made thereunder; or
(b)by an order made by the Authority by way of adjudication under this Act,
may prefer an appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal having jurisdiction in the matter.
(2) Every appeal made under sub-section (1) shall be filed within a period of forty-five days from the date on which a copy of the order made by the Authority is received by him and it shall be in such a form and be accompanied by such fees as may be prescribed:
Provided that the Securities Appellate Tribunal may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of forty-five days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing it within that period.
(3) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Securities Appellate Tribunal may, after giving parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against.
(4) The Securities Appellate Tribunal shall make available copy of order made by it to the Authority and parties.
(5) The appeal filed before the Securities Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (1) shall be dealt with by it as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made by it to dispose of the appeal finally within six months from the date of receipt of appeal.
(6) The procedure for filing and disposing of an appeal shall be such as may be prescribed.
(7) The provision contained in section 15U, section 15V, section 15W, section 15Y and section 15Z of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 shall apply to the appeals arising out of the provisions of this Act, as they apply to the appeals under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992).

1) Life Insurance 

2) General Insurance

a. Marine insurance
b. Fire insurance
c. Motor vehicle insurance
d. Miscellaneous insurance

3) Reinsurance

IRDA (General Insurance-Reinsurance) Regulations, 2000
IRDA (Life Insurance – Reinsurance) Regulations, 2000
Guidelines on Insurance and Reinsurance of General Insurance Risks

4) Health Insurance

Acts and Rules

1) The Insurance Act, 1938

THE INSURANCE LAWS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2015

2) The Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956
3) Marine Insurance Act, 1963
4) General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972
5) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1999

Micro Insurance

IRDA Regulations – IRDA (Micro-Insurance) Regulations’ 2005

Guide Lines

1) Guidelines on Insurance repositories and electronic issuance of insurance policies (IRDA/ ADMN/ GDL/ GLD/ 080/ 04/ 2011)
2)Guidelines on Outsourcing of Activities by Insurance Companies (IRDA/Life/CIR/GLD/013/02/2011)
3) Corporate Governance Guidelines for insurance companies. (IRDA/F&A/CIR/025/2009-10)
4) Grievance Redressal Guidelines (3/CA/GRV/YPB/10-11)

5) Public Disclosures by Insurers (IRDA/F&I/CIR/F&A/012/01/2010)
6) Guidelines on Periodic disclosures
7) Guidelines on licensing of corporate agents. (IRDA/ CAGTS/CIR/LCE/039/03/2010)
8) Guidelines for opening of representative/liaison offices overseas by an Indian Insurance company registered with the IRDA. (IRDA/ 34/ For Office/ 08-09)
9) Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines. (30/IRDA/AML/CIR/AUG-09)
10)Guidelines on Advertisement, Promotion & Publicity of Insurance Companies
and insurance intermediaries. (007/IRDA/ CIR/ADV/MAY-07)
11)Guidelines on determination of required solvency margin under General Insurance Business. (39/IRDA/ACTL/RSM-NL/2005-06)
12)Guidelines on ―File and Use‖ Requirements for General Insurance Product ( 021/IRDA/F&U/SEP-06)
13)Guidelines on Insurance and Reinsurance of General Insurance Risks. (020/NL/IRDA/06)
14)Guidelines on ‗Health plus Life Combi Products‘. (IRDA/ LIFE /GDL/MISC/087/12/2009)
15)Guidelines for Unit Linked Life Insurance Products. (032/IRDA/Actl/Dec-2005)

16)Guidelines on Group Insurance Policies. (015/IRDA/Life/Circular/GI Guidelines/2005)
17)Guidelines on estimation of IBNR claims provision under General Insurance Business. (11/IRDA/ACTL/IBNR/2005-06)
18)Guidelines for Marine Hull Insurance and Insurance of War risk Insurance of Marine Hulls.

Life Insurance Policies

Types of Life Insurance Policies in India:
a. Endowment Policy
b. Whole Life Policy
c. Term Life Policy
d. Money-back Policy
e. Joint Life Policy
f. Group Insurance Policy

g. Loan Cover Term Assurance Policy
h. Pension Plan or Annuities
i. Unit Linked Insurance Plan

Actuaries

“Actuary” means a person skilled in determining the present effects of future contingent events or in finance modelling and risk analysis in different areas of insurance, or calculating the value of life interests and insurance risks, or designing and pricing of policies, working out the benefits, recommending rates relating to insurance business, annuities, insurance and pension rates on the basis of empirically based tables and includes a statistician engaged in such technology, taxation, employees’ benefits and such other risk management and investments and who is a fellow member of the Institute; and the expression “actuarial science” shall be construed accordingly.

Institute of Actuaries of India(IAI)

The Institute helps:-

To promote, uphold and develop the standards of professional education, training, knowledge, practice and conduct amongst Actuaries;
To promote the status of the Actuarial profession;
To regulate the practice by the Members of the profession of Actuary;
To promote, in the public interest, knowledge and research in all the matters relevant to Actuarial Science and its application; and
To do all such things as may be incidental or conducive to the above objects or any of them.

The Actuaries Act 2006

An Act to provide for regulating and developing the profession of Actuaries and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Quality Review Board

Foreign Investment in Insurance Business in India

Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
20-February-2015 18:09 IST

Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015 Notified; 

Foreign Equity Investment Cap of 49 Per Cent Applicable to All Indian Insurance Companies;

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Proposals up to 26 Per Cent of the Total Paid-Up Equity of the Indian Insurance Company Allowed on the Automatic Route, and FDI Proposals which take the Total Foreign Investment Above 26 Per Cent and up to the Cap of 49 Per Cent Shall Require FIPB[Foreign Investment Promotion Board] Approval 

The Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015 have been notified by the Government of India under the powers conferred by Section 114 of the Insurance Act, 1938 read with clause (b) of sub-section (7A) of Section 2 of the Insurance Act, 1938 and Section 24 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999. These Rules have been prepared based on extensive consultations with all the relevant Departments/Organisations. These Rules incorporate the recent amendments in the law into the standing/prevalent practices being followed hitherto with respect to the treatment of foreign investment in Indian Insurance Companies under extant applicable regulations and the FDI policy of Government of India.

According to these rules, foreign equity investment cap of 49 per cent is applicable to all Indian insurance companies and they shall not allow the aggregate holdings by way of total foreign investment in their equity shares by Foreign Investors, including portfolio investors, to exceed forty-nine per cent of their paid-up equity capital and also shall ensure that ownership and control shall remain at all times in the hands of resident Indian entities as referred to in these rules. The foreign equity investment cap of 49 per cent shall also apply to Insurance Brokers, Third Party Administrators, Surveyors and Loss Assessors and other insurance intermediaries appointed under the provisions of the IRDA Act, 1999.

As per these rules, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals up to 26 per cent of the total paid-up equity of the Indian Insurance Company shall be allowed on the automatic route, and FDI proposals which take the total Foreign Investment above 26 per cent and up to the cap of 49 per cent shall require FIPB approval.

Further, Foreign Portfolio Investment in an Indian Insurance Company shall be governed by the provisions contained in the relevant sub-regulations/regulations under FEMA Regulations, 2000 and provisions of the Securities Exchange Board of India (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations. Any increase of foreign investment of an Indian insurance company shall be in accordance with the pricing guidelines specified by Reserve Bank of India under the FEMA.

These rules shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

A copy of these rules are also placed on the website of Department of Financial Services at www.financialservices.gov.in

Life Insurance Council

Constituted under Sec.64C of Insurance Act 1938, the Life Insurance Council functions through several sub-committees and includes all life insurance companies in India. In total, there are 24 life insurers who offer a variety of traditional and new innovative products.

Name of few Life insurance companies apart from 

Dispute resolution

Policyholders who have complaints against insurers are required to first approach the Grievance/Customer Complaints Cell of the concerned insurer. If you do not receive a response from insurer(s) within a reasonable period of time or are dissatisfied with the response of the company, you may approach the Grievance Cell of the IRDAI. The complaints need to be addressed to the correct Grievance Cell of the IRDAI and sent to the addresses given below. Please note that the Grievances Cell(s) responsible for life insurance and non-life insurance are separate

If the grievance is not redressed, insured are advised to approach the Insurance Ombudsmen

List of authorized Insurance Surveyors 

Insurance surveyors are qualified professionals debuted for the assessment of losses