K S Sashikumar Sashikumar, , Development Officer, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Royapettah Branch, Chennai says: When two powerful regulators fight, it’s the insurance field force that gets caught in the crossfire. The SEBI vs IRDA fight is creating apprehension and uneasiness among the insurance field force.

Mr V B Mohan Mohan, ,, , Development Officer, LIC of India, Secunderabad writes that there is a need for partnership and not competition in regulating ULIPs and that there is scope for ULIPs to serve their purpose if some basic changes are effected.

The essence of an insurance policy is the timely and correct payment of a claim when it arises. All the reluctance of a prospect to buy, or a policyholder to pay and renew, find an answer at the time of a claim when, in that moment of distress, there is one voice that brings restitution [...]

SEBI vs IRDA The Turf War over ULIPs In January, when Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sent show cause notices to Life insurance companies demanding to know how they launched unit linked insurance policies without its approval, the insurance industry was totally taken aback. SEBI’s stand was that ULIPs were collective investment schemes and [...]

When insurance companies merge K Nitya Kalyani In the last week of March there were two news developments relating to insurance companies’ ownership stakes. News reports, unconfirmed, said that both Reliance Life Insurance Company and Reliance General Insurance Company were talking to investors from abroad for selling them a stake. The point of interest here [...]

Following media reports that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had issued a showcause notice to HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company for one of its annuity products, it is learnt that now SEBI has issued showcause notices to a number of insurance companies over their unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs,) according to media reports. [...]

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was waiting for the guidance note from the Institute of Actuaries for bring out the initial public offering (IPO) guidelines for insurance companies by the end of February, IRDA Chairman, Mr J Hari Narayan, was quoted saying in media reports. IRDA is also considering introducing a cap on charges [...]

IRDA releases new disclosure norms According to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s latest norms on investment exposures, insurance companies will now have to publish their financial results twice a year, media reports said. The financial documents that the companies need to publish include the balance sheet, profit and loss account, revenue account and key analytical [...]

MFL Insurance Services, Hyderabad, registered by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) as a direct broker on March 3, 2003, has opted not to renew its licence and to discontinue the broking business, IRDA has, accordingly, cancelled the licence.

The release of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s Annual Report for 2008-09 three months in advance with statistics on Life, General, Microinsurance and Intermediaries is a piece of good news. The high lapsation rate of intermediaries is a worrying trend in the report.