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Informist, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025

 

By Priyasmita Dutta and Sagar Sen

 

NEW DELHI – Irrespective of whether it can secure the Union Cabinet's clearance ahead of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, the tabling of the Insurance Amendment Bill will now likely be postponed to the Winter Session, a senior finance ministry official said. "The Parliament has more important issues at the moment, including the Income Tax Bill. So Insurance (Amendment) Bill will most likely be tabled in Winter Session," the official told Informist. 

 

The Insurance Amendment Bill, 2024, has many operational amendments, with one of the key items being enabling 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 Winter Session of Parliament is typically scheduled around Nov-Dec. According to the official, the finance ministry was fairly positive that it will be cleared during the ongoing Parliament session. The Monsoon Session began on Jul. 21 and is scheduled to end on Aug. 21. So far, the session has seen limited business with short House hours.  

 

The Insurance Amendment Bill also proposes that insurance agents should be allowed 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 Life Insurance Corporation Act and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority 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. A composite licence allows an insurance company to provide multiple types of products, such as life, general, or health, under one roof.  End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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