Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority ══════════════ | UPSC Notes EPFO Labour Law
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
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The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India. It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India. The agency's headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.
IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.
➨Headquarters: Hyderabad
➨Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia
➨Chief General Manager: V Jayanth Kumar
Structure
Section 4 of the IRDAI Act 1999 specifies the authority's composition. It is a ten-member body consisting of a chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India. At present ( 1 Sept, 2018 ), the authority is chaired by Dr. Subhash C. Khuntia and its full-time members are Mrs T.L.Alamelu, K.Ganesh, Pournima Gupte, Praveen Kutumbe and Sujay Banarji.
The functions of the IRDAI are defined in Section 14 of the IRDAI Act, 1999, and include:
➨Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations
➨Protecting policyholder interests
➨Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents
➨Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors
➨Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses
➨Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry
➨Levying fees and other charges
➨Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations
➨Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938)
➨Specifying how books should be kept
➨Regulating company investment of funds
➨Regulating a margin of solvency
➨Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries
➨Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee
➨Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and regulating professional organisations
➨Specifying the percentage of life- and general insurance business undertaken in the rural or social sector
➨Specifying the form and the manner in which books of accounts shall be maintained, and statement of accounts shall be rendered by insurers and other insurer intermediaries.
