IRDA tells life insurers to display all charges levied on policyholders

Venkatachari Jagannathan
03 January 2008

Chennai: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has rung in the New Year with a move cheer policy holders.

Henceforth all life insurers will have to compulsorily spell out clearly under individual heads the charges / loads they collect from a policyholder and the amount available towards investment under unit-linked life insurance policies (ULIP) every year.

Insurance companies have also been told to specify clearly the guaranteed returns and the non-guaranteed returns to their policyholders under each policy.

The new rule comes into effect from 1 February 2008.

The highlight of the regulator's New Year's move is that information that insurers provide should be specific to the concerned policyholder and not of a generic nature.

• The two statements:
  Statement of charges, amount available for investment and
  
• Table showing guaranteed and non guaranteed returns at 6 and 10 per cent - are to be signed by the policyholder as well as the agent.

Only then will the statements form part of the policy document.