Page 41 - Life Insurance Today March 2018

Insurance Regulatory

and Development

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Authority of IndiaNewsNews

Unclaimed policy amounts of more than 10 months to Digital push would be a
be transferred to SCWF big challenge for insur-

IRDA had asked insurers to transfer unclaimed amounts of policyholders for a ance regulator- Vijayan
period of more than 10 years to the Senior
Citizens' Welfare Fund (SCWF). The un- TS Vijayan, Chairman, Insurance
claimed amounts of more than 10 years, as Regulatory and
on September 30, 2017, shall be transferred Development
before March 1, 2018. Authority of In-
dia (IRDAI) re-
The insurance companies have to follow the
accounting procedure for transfer of the cently men-
funds into the SCWF issued by the Budget Division, Department of Economic tioned that facili-
Affairs, Ministry of Finance. After this, for every financial year, the process laid tating growth in
down in the SCWF Rules 2016 shall be followed. the context of increasing focus on
digital transactions would be a chal-
lenge. He stated that the industry
South Asian Insurance regulators need to co-operate
will face challenges as more and
For the industry's growth and to increase penetration, co-operation among the more technology is deployed.
insurance regulators is crucial, as mentioned by
Referring a scenario, he said, by
the the IRDAI Chairman at the recently held 4th
adopting technology such as
South Asian Regulators' Meet. India, Pakistan analytics and big data, product
and Bangladesh together account for 23 % of the
customisation can be done. "Pricing
world's population but were low in insurance
will be better and products will be
penetration, at less than 4 %, he explained.
better. So, adopting it (technology)
"There is significant scope for insurance penetration,'' Vijayan added.
is going to be increasingly impor-
Referring to the recent growth in the insurance industry in the country, Vijayan tant," he said.
said the total premium of insurance in the country would be over Rs. 6 lakh
Referring to the industry situation,
crore in financial year 2017-18. he said, it was "active and lively"
Insurers are working towards adopting International Financial Reporting Stan- with double-digit growth in 2016-
dards by 2021, he said. "Active consultations are underway" for upgradation 17, which saw about Rs. 4 lakh crore
and updation of accounting practices and systems," Vijayan added. and Rs. 1.27 lakh crore in premium
collection in the life and non-life in-
In his keynote address, VK Sharma, Chairman, Life Insurance Corporation of
surance segments, respectively.The
India, (LIC) said India and South Asia could collaborate a lot in insurance. "We
general growth in the economy, he
have developed a knowledge base and skills. In India, the asset base of the
corporation was at Rs. 28.54 lakh crore as of December 2017 and LIC was bet- said, will also drive expansion of the
insurance market across the life,
ting big on technology, he said. "Today, about 50 per cent of our premium
health and motor segments.
comes from tech-based solutions."
Life Insurance Today March 2018 41