Page 14 - Insurance Times May 2023

purchasing power of the policyholder private sector, is higher than even that Regulations, 2023, notified on March
increases. "When you are young, you of the chairman of IRDAI. According to 26, 2023 is expected to provide more
do not need health insurance, and old the Finance Ministry, the chairman is flexibility in product innovation and in-
age itself is a disease," said Srivastava. entitled to a consolidated pay and al- surance penetration, insurance officials
lowance of Rs. 4.5 lakh per month with-
United India Insurance CMD Satyajit said.
out the facility of a house and a car.
Tripathy said it were the government Anil Kumar Aggarwal, MD and CEO at
IRDAI's whole-time members draw a
schemes that drove insurance penetra- Shriram General insurance, said, "the
consolidated pay and allowance of Rs.
tion in rural areas. regulatory change is an eagerly awaited
48 lakh per annum. No upper cap on
and path-breaking reform by IRDAI. The
pay beyond Rs. 70 lakh has been fixed
IRDAI readies to loosen its removal of the cap on commission pay-
in the current lateral recruitment, and
purse for top executives it could go even up to Rs. 1 crore, ac- ments will positively impact the insur-
ance sector."
cording to sources.
IRDAI is now scouting for talent by com-
peting with the corporates in remu- It will facilitate greater product inno-
neration for top executives. IRDAI permits insurers to vation, development of new product
distribution models and lead to more
The insurance regulator has notified frame commissions for
customer-centric operations. It will also
the posts of Chief Technology Officer,
policyholders, agents increase insurance penetration and pro-
Chief Communication Officer, Chief
People Officer, and Chief Risk Officer for IRDAI has asked insurance companies, vide flexibility to insurers in managing
lateral recruitment. The annual pack- including life and non-life, to fix an over- their expenses. Overall, it will smoothen
age for these posts to be filled on a con- all cap on commission payment to adherence to compliance norms,
tractual basis carries an annual pack- agents, brokers and other intermedi- Aggarwal said.
age of Rs. 70 lakh and may go up fur- aries, giving more flexibility to insurers
In the case of motor insurance service
ther. in managing their expenses.
providers, who are essentially automo-
"The gross emoluments would be This means the regulator has replaced bile dealers, command higher commis-
around Rs. 70 lakhs per annum. Higher the earlier cap on different commission sion than agents and brokers. IRDAI
compensation could be considered for payments to various types of interme- had earlier allowed insurance compa-
suitable candidates based on qualifica- diaries with an overall board approved
nies to pay up to 22.5% of total pre-
tion and experience," the notification cap which should be within the allowed
mium as the commission in two-wheel-
said. The upper age limit is 55 years. expenses.
ers and 19.5% of the total premium for
This pay package, comparable to the The IRDAI (Payment of Commission) other vehicles such as cars and SUVs.

Govt works on assistance for crash victims on all highways

India-home to the world's deadliest roads-plans to extend its marquee Incident Management Services (IMS) to all
national highways to reduce road fatalities and improve safety for road users.
The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) plans to seek request for proposals (RFPs) from companies to
supply, operate and maintain IMS on national highways. As part of this initiative, highways would be equipped with
ambulances, cranes, round-the-clock patrol vehicles and skilled workers capable of providing quick post-crash re-
sponse, critical in saving lives of accident victims.

Indian roads are among the most dangerous globally. Road accidents claimed 156,000 lives in 2021-or 457 lives per
day, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. National highways have emerged as one of the biggest killers,
accounting for more than 40% of road accidents every year.
As per official estimates, Indian roads report one accident every minute, and one fatal accident every four minute.
There are as many as 35 accidents per 1,000 vehicles and often delays in providing post-accident relief results in loss
of life. The ministry has sought comments on the draft RFP, which will be followed by more deliberations before the
service is finalized and rolled out across states in this fiscal year, an office memorandum issued by MoRTH said.

14 May 2023 The Insurance Times