Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority - IRDAI Headquarter, Structure & Functions

 ☑️Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India☑️

What is IRDAI?

💠The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India. 

It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India. 

The agency's headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

💠IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

➨Headquarters: Hyderabad

➨Registered Address: Sy No. 115/1, Financial District, Nanakramguda, Hyderabad – 500032

➨Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia

➨Chief General Manager: V Jayanth Kumar

Structure of IRDAI:

💠The structure of the IRDAI is defined in Section 4 of the IRDAI Act, 1999, and specifies the authority's composition.

It is a ten-member body consisting of a chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India. 

At present ( 1 Jan 2022 ), the authority is chaired by Dr. Subhash C. Khuntia and its full-time members are Mrs. T.L.Alamelu, K.Ganesh, Pournima Gupte, Praveen Kutumbe, and Sujay Banerji.

Missions of IRDAI:

Ø To protect the interest of and secure fair treatment to policyholders; 

Ø To bring about speedy and orderly growth of the insurance industry (including annuity and superannuation payments), for the benefit of the common man, and to provide long term funds for accelerating growth of the economy;

Ø To set, promote, monitor and enforce high standards of integrity, financial soundness, fair dealing and competence of those it regulates;

Ø To ensure speedy settlement of genuine claims, to prevent insurance frauds and other malpractices and put in place effective grievance redressal machinery;

Ø To promote fairness, transparency, and orderly conduct in financial markets dealing with insurance and build a reliable management information system to enforce high standards of financial soundness amongst market players;

Ø  To take action where such standards are inadequate or ineffectively enforced; 

Ø  To bring about the optimum amount of self-regulation in the day-to-day working of the industry consistent with the requirements of prudential regulation.

Functions of IRDAI:

💠The functions of the IRDAI are defined in Section 14 of the IRDAI Act, 1999, and include:

➨Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending, or canceling registrations

➨Protecting policyholder interests

➨Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct, and training for intermediaries and agents

➨Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

➨Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses

➨Promoting and regulating professional organizations connected with the insurance and reinsurance industry

➨Levying fees and other charges

➨Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries, and other relevant organizations

➨Regulating rates, advantages, terms, and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938)

➨Specifying how books should be kept

➨Regulating company investment of funds

➨Regulating a margin of solvency

➨Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries

➨Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee

➨Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and regulating professional organizations

➨Specifying the percentage of life- and general insurance business undertaken in the rural or social sector

➨Specifying the form and the manner in which books of accounts shall be maintained, and statement of accounts shall be rendered by insurers and other insurer intermediaries.