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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

 

--Fin min source: To meet pvt general insurers May 7 for routine review 

--Fin min source: To discuss issues of pvt general insurers at May 7 meet 

 

NEW DELHI - Finance ministry officials will likely meet heads of private general insurance companies, including health and non-life insurers, on May 7, a senior official told Informist. The meeting with the officials of the Department of Financial Services will be a "routine review" where the industry players can discuss issues concerning them, the official added. 

 

In a similar meeting, Department of Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju met the chiefs of life insurance companies on Apr. 16, where he told them to work towards enhancing affordability and accessibility of life insurance products in the country, creating a robust customer feedback mechanism, and working on prevention of frauds.

 

The meetings with insurance companies come ahead of the government taking up the Insurance Amendment Bill, 2024, in Parliament. The Bill, expected to be taken up for discussion and passing in the Monsoon Session in Jul-Aug, has many operational amendments, including the hike in foreign direct investment limit for the insurance sector to 100%--as proposed in the Budget for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar)--from the current 74%.

 

Another important item in the Bill is the introduction of composite licences, which would allow insurers to offer all types of insurance products under one licence, streamlining the licensing process and enabling companies to expand their offerings.

The Bill also proposes to allow agents to sell products from multiple insurers, breaking away from the earlier exclusivity model, potentially leading to a more customer-centric approach and increased insurance penetration in rural and underserved areas.  

 

Alongside the Insurance Amendment Bill, 2024, the government will also make amendments to the LIC Act and the IRDAI Act. Tweaks to the LIC Act will be made to empower the board to undertake operational decisions like office expansion, recruitment and hikes. On the other hand, the IRDAI Act will be tweaked to enable the provision of composite licensing as well as the FDI limit.   End

 

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

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