Irda looks at fresh norms for new products

“We are working with the industry to figure out a design template. In the process, we would be looking at issuing fresh guidelines, which are in advanced stage of evaluation, and hopefully, they will become regulation, shortly,’’ J Hari Narayan, chairman, Irda, said at the sidelines of a meeting organised by ICICI Prudential Life and Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM). The proposed new guidelines would help simplify things better and the new products will cater to the expectations of all kinds of customers,” he said.

The current insurance products are complex structures, he said. Both products and policies have to be re-modelled for newer markets as the insurance industry is in the cusp of this change. Hence, the design template for newer guidelines, catering to both life and non-life sector, would make things simpler for both consumers and the regulator. More direct savings oriented products with smaller tenure have become popular in developed countries and the trend in India is also moving in that direction, he said.

Recently, after a meeting with the finance ministry, Irda had said a mechanism for faster regulatory approval of new insurance products is on the cards. Irda will also encourage firms to launch low-premium products for increasing insurance penetration.

Further, Irda is also in the

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