Insurance is complex and the customer depends on the intermediary for knowledgeable advice for protection against perils.
In this new column, Perils & Protection, Mr B Mathews Prabakaran, a licenced insurance broker and a seasoned General insurance professional discusses issues in the insurance industry, especially those touching the professional lives of marketing and sales professionals as well as intermediaries like brokers and agents.

In April 2007, Indian General insurance business was taken off the tariff, the price list for many types of General insurance which had been statutory for decades. Some tariffs were very high – for Fire insurance – for example. Others were too low – like Motor insurance, especially Motor Third Party Liability. This led to [...]

Life insurance companies issuing Health insurance policies should provide Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) all information as specified in forms Health-L1, Health-L2 and Health-L3, according to a notice issued on IRDA’s website. The forms are annexed to the notice. The information may be sent to the data repository centre of IRDA in a compact [...]

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in a circular has asked General insurance companies selling Health insurance to allow entry to prospects till 65 years of age. Any difference in product specifications based on the age of the customers should be spelt out upfront in the prospectus or policy documents. Any denial of Health [...]

Following the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) panel recommendations on the performance of Third Party Administrators (TPAs) in the Health Services, many insurance firms, including the four public sector General insurance companies, have decided to start in-house TPAs, according to media reports. The panel had recommended that General insurance companies hire at least two [...]

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company is part of the Chennai headquartered Murugappa Group with major presence in engineering, abrasives, sugar and agricultural and farm inputs.  It is a joint venture with the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, the second-largest insurance group in Japan. Mr S S Gopalarathnam, a Cost and Management Accountant by qualification, joined the [...]

‘Assets Side Needs Urgent Attention’ Health insurance, a prudent solvency regime and what needs to be done to safeguard the investment of policyholders’ funds in the insurance industry. These were the concerns of Dr R Kannan, Member (Actuary,) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) at this point. Dr Kannan who has held this position since [...]