Page 8 - The Insurance Times September 2022

IRDAI eases limits for com- flected in commission expenses," an available to every individual in a seam-
official as saying. less and swift manner with the use of
missions to Insurance technology and protecting the interests
The new regulations state that the
Agents commission limit will stay but, hence- of the policyholders," the regulator said
in a statement.
IRDAI provided insurers with more flex- forth, it will be at the portfolio level limit
ibility in paying commission by linking and not an individual line of business. IRDAI has sought innovative ideas/so-
limits to the overall portfolio and com- This means that a company that does lutions for automated death claim
pany management expenses, accord- more group health business at a low settlement using technology and tech-
based solution to curtail miss-selling of
ing to a report. commission will have more headroom
insurance products.
than a company with more individual
The utmost commission sanctioned for
non-life products has been pegged at health insurance businesses. Some in- The regulator is also looking for tech-
20% of the gross written premium in surers feel that even if limits are set at nology-enabled solutions to identify
India in that financial year. the portfolio level, regulations should uninsured motor vehicles and ensure
not blend wholesale and retail portfo- issuance of mandatory motor third
The insurers have been told by IRDAI
lios for calculating commission ceiling. party insurance, and technology-based
that their commission and remunera-
distribution of insurance products, in-
tion payout should be based on a board-
cluding micro insurance in "difficult ter-
IRDAI organises hackathon,
approved policy which will be reviewed rains and less penetrable areas".
on a yearly basis. No commission shall invites innovative solutions
be payable to insurance agents or the IRDAI eases norms of bank
for insurance sector
insurance intermediaries in the direct
IRDAI has invited entities to develop bonds, InvITs/REITs
business, and the insurers must grant
technology-driven innovative solutions IRDAI has allowed insurers to buy more
discounts on the premium.
for automated death claim settlement, perpetual bonds
Considering the positive side of the new
curtail miss-selling, and other areas of
regulation, the insurers said that insur- issued by banks and permitted them to
the insurance ecosystem, with an aim
ance companies which were spending participate in the public listing of
to protect the interest of policyholders. highyielding InvITs (Investment Trusts),
more on sales using the marketing route
Applications have been invited by IRDAI enhancing the capital sources for such
could now spend the money on com-
as part of its first hackathon - Bima instruments that hitherto faced growth
missions. "Public sector companies have
Manthan 2022 -- with the theme 'Inno- challenges due to the lack of wider in-
a higher wage to premium ratio, but
vation in Insurance'. stitutional patronage.
they are not very different from private
players in management expenses. This "The hackathon invites participants to "The aggregate value of AT1 (additional
is because private companies spend identify and develop solutions that have tier one) bonds held in a particular
more promoting sales, which is not re- the potential to make the insurance bank, at any point of time, shall not ex-
8 The Insurance Times, September 2022