Starting from April 1, insurance policies in India will be issued solely in digital format, as mandated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Highlights:
- Starting April 1, insurance policies in India must be digital.
- IRDAI rule aims to safeguard policyholders’ interests.
- Four repositories facilitate e-insurance accounts.
- Accounts function like paperless shares for holding policies.
- Policyholders can still opt for physical copies in exceptional cases.
- Each person can have only one e-insurance account.
- Accounts can be opened when purchasing new policies or converting existing ones.
- KYC documents like Aadhaar and PAN are required for opening accounts.
- Benefits include centralized policy management and simplified processes.
- Digital policies reduce the risk of document loss and ensure easy access to benefits.
- The shift enhances efficiency and transparency in the insurance sector.
This regulation aims to align with the Protection of Policyholders’ Interests rules, ensuring that insurers issue policies in dematerialized form.
Introduced in 2013, this option is facilitated by four insurance repositories, enabling the opening of e-insurance accounts.
This move towards e-insurance is poised to benefit policyholders and the insurance ecosystem as a whole.
E-insurance accounts operate similarly to dematerialized or paperless shares, allowing policies to be issued and held digitally.
While insurers will only issue digital policies after April 1, policyholders still have the option to hold physical copies if preferred.
This is subject to exceptions and can only be availed in exceptional circumstances. Each policyholder is allowed only one e-insurance account, which can hold policies from various insurers and segments.
To open an e-insurance account, policyholders can do so at the time of purchasing a new policy or by converting existing physical policies into digital form.
This process requires submission of KYC documents such as Aadhaar and PAN to the insurance repository. The conversion process can be completed online, streamlining the documentation process.
Benefits of e-insurance accounts include centralized management of all policies, streamlined premium payments, and simplified claims processing.
Policyholders can easily update their details across all policies in one go, reducing the need for repeated KYC processes.
E-insurance accounts offer peace of mind by eliminating the risk of misplacing physical policy documents and ensuring easy access to benefits for family members in the policyholder’s absence.
Overall, the shift to digital insurance policies marks a significant step towards enhancing efficiency, transparency, and convenience within the insurance sector, ultimately benefiting policyholders and insurers alike.
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