Insurance agents, bank officials or brokers selling insurance policies will have to be more diligent while soliciting customers. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has mandated that every policy be linked to the individual responsible for the sale effective January 2027 to curb mis-selling and ensure customers can identify the person or entity that sold them the policy.

The insurance regulator on Friday notified the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Insurance Intermediaries) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, introducing a series of changes to the regulatory framework governing insurance intermediaries and making corresponding amendments to investment-related regulations.

Under the amended regulations, every proposal form, policy document and certificate of insurance must carry the details of the intermediary or any other authorised salesperson who solicited the policy, along with the mobile number and email address of the branch or office through which the policy was sold. In cases where a policy is sold directly through an intermediary’s digital platform, the telephone number and email address of the intermediary’s Principal Officer must be disclosed. 

The new tagging requirement, applicable to corporate agents, insurance brokers, insurance marketing firms, web aggregators and Common Public Service Centre special-purpose vehicles (CPSC-SPVs), will come into effect from January 1, 2027.

The regulator also accepted industry feedback on concerns over disclosing PAN or Aadhaar details of intermediaries, citing privacy considerations and compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. Instead the person responsible for solicitation should apply for an unique identification number. 

The regulator has also overhauled the registration framework for intermediaries. Under the revised norms, a certificate of registration, once granted, will remain valid indefinitely, subject to payment of a non-refundable annual fee. The registration will continue unless it is suspended or cancelled by Irdai or voluntarily surrendered by the intermediary.

Existing intermediaries holding registrations with a three-year validity will have to apply for a fresh certificate by January 31, 2027. Those missing the deadline can apply until March 31, 2027, by furnishing reasons for the delay and paying an additional fee of ₹750.

Separately, Irdai amended regulations governing insurers’ actuarial, finance and investment functions, allowing insurers to invest up to 20% in operational infrastructure special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) rated AA or above. The revised investment framework also permits life insurers to invest up to 3% of investment assets, and general insurers up to 5%, in a combination of unlisted private limited companies, Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Venture Capital Funds (VCFs). Overall exposure to promoter groups has been capped at 5% of investment assets.