&w=3840&q=100)
Irdai flags issues at 8 insurers over health master circular norms
BS Reporter
As part of routine inspections to review the implementation of regulatory norms, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) initiated inspections at several health insurance companies and flagged concerns with select firms regarding the implementation of certain norms under the new Health Insurance Master Circular, people aware of the development said.
According to a CNBC-TV18 report, eight general insurance companies—New India Assurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, HDFC ERGO General Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance, Star Health and Allied Insurance, Niva Bupa Health Insurance, Care Health Insurance, and ManipalCigna Health Insurance—are under the scanner for violations related to claims settlement and the implementation of the circular.
The report stated that the violations noted by the regulator involve improper implementation of the Health Insurance Master Circular, which could lead to enforcement actions.
'In order to review the implementation of health prescriptions, Irdai had initiated inspection of all insurers in a phase-wise manner as part of its regulatory supervision and oversight. Accordingly, regulatory inspections were initiated for eight general and health insurance companies as part of the initial phase. The inspection report was shared with the insurance companies. The observations mainly related to industry-wide challenges in implementing the new prescriptions,' an ICICI Lombard spokesperson said in response to a Business Standard query.
'The company has submitted its response to the inspection report, in keeping with our endeavour and spirit of upholding the regulatory prescriptions. At ICICI Lombard, and as an industry leader, we follow high standards of regulatory compliance and corporate governance in all our operations,' the spokesperson added.
Queries sent to the remaining insurance companies remained unanswered at the time of going to press.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Parliamentary proceedings: Raising FDI limit for insurers to 100% will generate employment opportunities, says FM Sitharaman
The proposed raising of FDI limit in Indian insurance companies to 100% would bring more players into the market and generate employment opportunities, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday (August 12, 2025). Further, she said, "improved technologies and automation would lead to faster underwriting, claim processing leading to improved turnaround time thereby reducing cost and enhancing overall efficiency of the sector." The increase in FDI in Indian insurance companies from 74% to 100% was announced in the Union Budget on February 1, 2025. Parliament Monsoon Session Day 17 updates The Insurance Act, 1938 governs investment by insurers with a strong emphasis on safety, liquidity, and regulatory oversight by aligning investment by insurers with policyholder interests. The Act stipulates time, manner, form, conditions and instruments allowed for investment. Insurers are mandated to invest a specified percentage of funds in government securities and other approved securities as specified by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). "Additionally, the Act does not permit Indian insurance companies to invest any of their funds outside India. Hence, all the funds of insurance companies must be compulsorily invested in India," she said in a reply in the Rajya Sabha. In order to ensure financial stability in the insurance sector and protection of policyholders, she said, the Act further mandates every insurer to maintain at all times, an excess of assets over liabilities of not less than 50% of the minimum capital amount. Irdai further mandates insurers to maintain the control level of solvency of 150% at all times, she said. Further, in case of an insurer acting in a manner prejudicial to the policyholders' interests, Irdai is empowered by the Act to supersede the Board of such insurance company and appoint an Administrator to manage the affairs of the insurance company. Besides, she said, the regulatory oversight of the Irdai ensures transparency and policyholder protection by promoting fair business practices, solvency monitoring, supervision and efficient grievance redressal. As per the Companies Act, 2013, all insurance companies are board- governed entities and are required to be compliant with the Companies Act, 2013 at all times for all governance matters. This, alongside Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign investment) Rules, 2015 governs various aspects of operations including dividend payment, repatriation of profit and composition of Board of Directors for insurance companies. "All these provisions and mechanisms ensure adequate checks and balances for conduct of business of insurance in India and act as safeguards," she said. Replying to another question, Sitharaman said the maximum continuous tenure of directors of cooperative banks (excluding Chairperson and Whole-time Directors) has been extended from 8 to 10 years following the recent amendment in Section 10A (sub section 2a (i)) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 (BR Act). This provision has come into effect from August 1, 2025, she added.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
a day ago
- Business Standard
Raising FDI limit for insurers to 100% will create jobs: FM Sitharaman
The proposed raising of FDI limit in Indian insurance companies to 100 per cent would bring more players into the market and generate employment opportunities, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday. Further, she said, "improved technologies and automation would lead to faster underwriting, claim processing leading to improved turnaround time thereby reducing cost and enhancing overall efficiency of the sector." The increase in FDI in Indian insurance companies from 74 per cent to 100 per cent was announced in the Union Budget on February 1, 2025. The Insurance Act, 1938 governs investment by insurers with a strong emphasis on safety, liquidity, and regulatory oversight by aligning investment by insurers with policyholder interests. The Act stipulates time, manner, form, conditions and instruments allowed for investment. Insurers are mandated to invest a specified percentage of funds in government securities and other approved securities as specified by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). "Additionally, the Act does not permit Indian insurance companies to invest any of their funds outside India. Hence, all the funds of insurance companies must be compulsorily invested in India," she said in a reply in the Rajya Sabha. In order to ensure financial stability in the insurance sector and protection of policyholders, she said, the Act further mandates every insurer to maintain at all times, an excess of assets over liabilities of not less than 50 per cent of the minimum capital amount. Irdai further mandates insurers to maintain the control level of solvency of 150 per cent at all times, she said. Further, in case of an insurer acting in a manner prejudicial to the policyholders' interests, Irdai is empowered by the Act to supersede the Board of such insurance company and appoint an Administrator to manage the affairs of the insurance company. Besides, she said, the regulatory oversight of the Irdai ensures transparency and policyholder protection by promoting fair business practices, solvency monitoring, supervision and efficient grievance redressal. As per the Companies Act, 2013, all insurance companies are board- governed entities and are required to be compliant with the Companies Act, 2013 at all times for all governance matters. This, alongside Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign investment) Rules, 2015 governs various aspects of operations including dividend payment, repatriation of profit and composition of Board of Directors for insurance companies. "All these provisions and mechanisms ensure adequate checks and balances for conduct of business of insurance in India and act as safeguards," she said. Replying to another question, Sitharaman said the maximum continuous tenure of directors of cooperative banks (excluding Chairperson and Whole-time Directors) has been extended from 8 to 10 years following the recent amendment in Section 10A (sub section 2a (i)) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 (BR Act). This provision has come into effect from August 1, 2025, she added.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Raising FDI limit for insurers to 100% will generate employment opportunities: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The proposed raising of FDI limit in Indian insurance companies to 100 per cent would bring more players into the market and generate employment opportunities, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday. Further, she said, "improved technologies and automation would lead to faster underwriting, claim processing leading to improved turnaround time thereby reducing cost and enhancing overall efficiency of the sector." Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program The increase in FDI in Indian insurance companies from 74 per cent to 100 per cent was announced in the Union Budget on February 1, 2025. The Insurance Act, 1938 governs investment by insurers with a strong emphasis on safety, liquidity, and regulatory oversight by aligning investment by insurers with policyholder interests. The Act stipulates time, manner, form, conditions and instruments allowed for investment. Insurers are mandated to invest a specified percentage of funds in government securities and other approved securities as specified by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). Live Events "Additionally, the Act does not permit Indian insurance companies to invest any of their funds outside India. Hence, all the funds of insurance companies must be compulsorily invested in India," she said in a reply in the Rajya Sabha. In order to ensure financial stability in the insurance sector and protection of policyholders, she said, the Act further mandates every insurer to maintain at all times, an excess of assets over liabilities of not less than 50 per cent of the minimum capital amount. Irdai further mandates insurers to maintain the control level of solvency of 150 per cent at all times, she said. Further, in case of an insurer acting in a manner prejudicial to the policyholders' interests, Irdai is empowered by the Act to supersede the Board of such insurance company and appoint an Administrator to manage the affairs of the insurance company. Besides, she said, the regulatory oversight of the Irdai ensures transparency and policyholder protection by promoting fair business practices, solvency monitoring, supervision and efficient grievance redressal. As per the Companies Act, 2013, all insurance companies are board- governed entities and are required to be compliant with the Companies Act, 2013 at all times for all governance matters. This, alongside Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign investment) Rules, 2015 governs various aspects of operations including dividend payment, repatriation of profit and composition of Board of Directors for insurance companies. "All these provisions and mechanisms ensure adequate checks and balances for conduct of business of insurance in India and act as safeguards," she said. Replying to another question, Sitharaman said the maximum continuous tenure of directors of cooperative banks (excluding Chairperson and Whole-time Directors) has been extended from 8 to 10 years following the recent amendment in Section 10A (sub section 2a (i)) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 (BR Act). This provision has come into effect from August 1, 2025, she added.
