IRDA working on demat format for life insurance policies
17 Dec 2011
The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is working on an electronic format for life insurance policies, which it expects to be perfected by the beginning of the next financial year (April 2012- March 2013), sources at the insurance brokers association said today.
"Stock Holding Corporation, Central Depository Services Ltd, NSDL, Karvy Computers and Computer Age Management Services are already working with the insurers and the regulator to put in place the procedure," Sohanlal Kadel, president of the Insurance Brokers Association of India, said.
This will later be extended to general insurance policies, especially motor insurance policies, as well, he said.
"The proposed electronic re-insurance platform will have to be mandatorily used by insurers and Indian reinsurers as well as foreign reinsurers operating in India," reports quoting IRDA chairman J Harinarayan as saying.
A demat policy will also help customers as they are saved from the hassles of producing proofs each time a policy is bought. It would also help insurers save on stationery, time and labour.
The IRDA also said it would take steps to introduce an electronic re-insurance platform for insurers - both Indian and foreign.
"The entire operation on the reinsurance side will be done through this particular platform once it is in place," Harinarayan said on the sidelines of the Eighth Insurance Brokers' summit in Kolkata.
He said IRDA had taken up an ambitious programme of designing an exchange or an inter-faceted, interlinked, electronic platform, on which reinsurance broking transactions would be executed.
