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To empower the Indian policyholders, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued a master circular that seeks to protect the interests of policyholders under the IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders’ Interests, Operations, and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024.
The master circular on protection of policyholders' interest consolidates the policyholder entitlements into a single reference document and focuses on measures for a smooth, quick and hassle-free claim settlement process for policyholders and enhancing insurance service standards. In this blog post, we will take a look at the key features of IRDAI’s new master circular.
Here are the key features of the new master circular released by IRDAI:
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Image Source: IRDAI
The new master circular provides a summary of essential details at various insurance contract stages, including guidance for policyholders, prospects and customers before sale takes place, at the proposal stage, during policy’s term, upon receiving policy papers, and during the time of claim for all insurance segments i.e., Life Insurance, General Insurance and Health Insurance.
The IRDAI has mandated the insurers to provide CIS for all the insurance segments and mention key policy features, benefits, and exclusions.
The policyholders of life and health insurance policies now get a 30-day free look period, wherein they can review the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.
Upon the request of the prospect or policyholder, the insurer must make a proposal form and CIS available in the regional language.
Insurance companies must offer a search tool on their website which allows verification of authorized distribution channels who put up their insurance products for sale.
This is required to be done in case of savings pertaining to life insurance products and annuity products, with the exception of annuities, which are bought from NPS proceeds and from employer-offered superannuation funds.
Individuals are not required to pay any premium or proposal deposits to the life or health insurer along with the proposal form. However, the payment must be made in case of policies where risk cover commences immediately on the premium’s receipt.
For policy processing and claim standards, the turnaround times have been specified.
The proposal forms must collect details of the nominee, including their bank account details, to help speedy settlement of claims in case of the policyholder’s demise.
Insurers must enable their IT systems to interact with Digilocker. This will allow the policyholders to use this service properly.
Each insurer is required to establish a Citizens’ Charter, which specifies the service standards.
A policyholder or claimant can search for unclaimed amounts with the help of IRDAI’s Bima Bharosa portal or by visiting the concerned insurer’s website.
Several initiatives have been rolled out by the insurance industry regulator IRDAI. Through the implementation of these measures, IRDAI continues to give policyholders’ interests the utmost importance and aims to increase transparency and efficiency in the Indian insurance industry. By learning about the key features of this new master circular, you can understand your rights as an insurance policyholder and your responsibilities as an insurer.
If you are a budding entrepreneur who wants to set up a company providing insurance policies, connect with Registrationwala for assistance in obtaining an IRDAI license, which serves as the legal permit to provide insurance policies in India.
Reference Link: IRDAI Circular
Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.
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