The Indian insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), has set up a working group on adoption, governance, and oversight of AI technologies in the Indian insurance industry.
An office order issued by the Authority Executive Director G R Suryakumar on 17 June 2026 said, “In order to ensure that the industry is adequately prepared to harness these technologies responsibly and safeguarding the interests of policyholders, it is essential to study their impact on insurance ecosystem as they also introduce new dimensions of ethical, operational, and cyber security risks.
The IRDAI notification said the dedicated working group on AI will guide the regulated entities in insurance sector on adoption, governance, and oversight of AI technologies. It will also provide direction on governance frameworks, best practices and safeguards to ensure that innovation in the insurance sector.
The working group will ensure that the implementation of AI in the industry is pursued in a manner that is not only fair, transparent and resilient but also ensure that policyholders’ data is protected at all time.
The working group has been constituted with following members:
- Prof Sandeep K Shukla, Director, IIIT Hyderabad - Chairperson
- Nandkumar Saravade, EX-CEO, ReBIT – Member
- Ashutosh Bahuguna, Scientist, CERT-In – Member
- Manoj Nayak, CISO, SBI Life Insurer – Member
- Shivanath Somanathan, CISO, Star Health Insurer – Member
- Steve Dsouza, CRO, ICICI Lombard Insurer – Member
- Deepak Gaikwad, GM & CISO, IRDAI – Member Convener
The terms of reference of the Working Group on AI are as under:
I. To study the impact of AI on the insurance sector as a whole including its potential challenges and risks and to assess the implications for insurers, policyholders and the broader insurance ecosystem.
II. To assess the adoption / usage, maturity, and deployment and existing level of AI Governance in the Insurance Sector.
III. To carry out the structural assessment of the inventory of AI systems used by regulated entities in the insurance sector.
IV. To review global regulatory and supervisory approaches on AI, with a focus on the Insurance sector, to understand how AI related risks are addressed.
V. To suggest AI Governance Framework for ethical, transparent and explainable adoption of AI tools or models in the Insurance Sector including for claims, fraud preventions, etc.
VI. To assess the impact of frontier AI tools on the insurance sector and suggest a framework for implementing reasonable security controls to mitigate risks from AI driven automated attacks.
VII. To examine the need for sector-wide stress tests for the insurance industry, with a specific focus on AI-related risks, to assess preparedness and resilience, and to propose appropriate evaluation, mitigation, and monitoring measures, along with consequential compliance requirements for entities in insurance sector.
VIII. To suggest AI Audit Framework addressing pre-deployment and post-deployment audit requirements.
IX. Identify skill gaps and capacity-building needs for various stakeholders.
X. Any other matter related to AI in the Insurance sector and /or as may be prescribed by the Competent Authority at IRDAI.
The working group shall submit its recommendations to the IRDAI Member (F&I) within three months from date of constitution.