Irdai Chairman

India needs more number of insurance players, much wider range of products and also more distribution partners to achieve the insurance for all goal by 2047, Irdai chairman Debasish Panda said here on Tuesday. The insurance sector was opened up more than two decades ago and the market has grown much bigger, but still there is too much scope for faster and deeper growth, he said addressing the annual summit of the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. In the past five years, the sector has grown 10 per cent each year, still insurance penetration is too low at 4.2 per cent in 2021 and we need to cover much more, he said. "We're a diverse nation of 1.4 billion people. We can't have a one-size-fits-all approach, instead we need more unique products that can meet the insurance needs of both the super rich as well as the very poor. And such unique products cannot be served by the limited number of players we have today at 70. "Therefore, we need more players, a much wide

Joshi was made the head of a 15-member Health Insurance Consultative Committee set up by Irdai in October. He has more than 37 years of experience in the financial services industry

He also said that the regulator is working on Bima Sugam- a one stop shop, for all insurance products

"Thereby, we are moving from a rule-based regulatory regime to a principle-based one," Panda said

For Irdai Chairman Debasis Panda, LIC's fortune and reforms in health insurance sector will be the two most difficult tests to pass

Insurance sector regulator Irdai on Friday relaxed capital requirement norms significantly for insurers to encourage their participation in the government's flagship programme PMJJBY

At the DFS, Panda, 60, created a group of officials to monitor speedier claim settlements for deaths due to Covid-19

Debasish Panda, former secretary, Department of Financial Services, to the top position of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) for three years

Here are the top headlines on Friday

State-owned insurance behemoth LIC had unclaimed funds to the tune of Rs 21,539 crore as of September 2021, according to draft prospectus filed for IPO with market regulator Sebi

Says previous IRDAI chief retired in May 2021 and FinMin had been planning the IPO well before chief's post fell vacant, but did not name a successor even after 8 months

In the first two quarters after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the insurance industry suffered negative growth. But, it bounced back as soon as the economy opened up post the lockdown

Irdai Chairman Subhash Chandra Khuntia talks to Subrata Panda on a range of subjects including shareholding of banks in insurance firms

Irdai chairman further said that these standard products will not be frozen in time

IRDAI chairman is concerned over low level of insurance penetration in the country

Customers must also avoid the temptation to cash out of their policies mid-tenure, once they have gathered considerable fund value.

Regulator Irdai is mulling over a plan to allow the tenure extension of Covid-19 specific insurance products as the vaccine for the disease is seemingly away, its chairman Subhash C Khuntia said

In an email Q&A, Subhash Chandra Khuntia speaks about the positive response to Corona Kavach policy, standardisation of covid treatment rates and need for a retrenchment cover

Arogya Sanjeevani Policy, whether in individual or group form, will also cover treatment of Covid-19 disease

IRDAI has received an overwhelming response to the Regulatory Sandbox initiative which is a mechanism created to foster innovation in insurance sector