Irda norms for e-insurance policies

 It also laid down guidelines for repositories, which compile and store data about policyholders on behalf of insurance companies.

Now, insurance companies can sell all polices, be it life, pension and non-life, in electronic form. Irda said making available e-insurance policies would bring about efficiency, transparency and cost reduction in issuing and maintaining them.

The guidelines state that an insurer issuing ‘e-insurance policies,’ shall have to take services of a registered repository. “All such insurance policies in electronic form shall be treated as valid insurance contracts,” Irda said. A certified insurance repository has to have a networth of at least Rs 25 crore, without any foreign investment, and wherein no insurance company can hold over 10 per cent or hold any managerial position.

“The insurance repository before commencing the operations shall put in place measures to safeguard the privacy of the data maintained and adequate systems to prevent manipulation of records and transactions,” Irda said.