India: IRDAI issues draft guidelines on e-insurance policies
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Nov 2022
IRDAI has issued draft guidelines on the Issuance of and submission of insurance policies and proposal forms in electronic formats.
In its ‘Issuance of e-Policies Regulations 2022 – Exposure Draft’, the IRDAI says that the objective of going digital is to promote efficiency in the conduct of insurance business by enabling insurers to adopt technology to build capabilities:
- For solicitation of insurance business through an electronic platform.
- To issue e-insurance policies procured either through an electronic platform or otherwise
- To mandate the use of electronic insurance accounts for holding e-insurance policies.
The IRDAI also highlights that an electronic insurance account (eIA) shall be mandatory for every policyholder and all policies issued to the policyholder shall be held in the eIA of the policyholder.
The exposure draft also states that every insurer soliciting insurance business through electronic mode, either directly or through insurance intermediaries, shall have in place an e-proposal form consistent with the physical proposal form, with respect to the product being solicited. The e-proposal form shall also include the suitability assessment form, and customised benefits illustration, as per the extant provisions applicable. A