Insurance involves an insurer agreeing to compensate an insured for specified losses in exchange for premium payments. Key parties are the insurer and insured, with their relationship outlined in an insurance policy. Insurance covers losses to property from events like fire or accidents, as well as life-related contingencies like death. There are different types of insurance like life, fire, marine, and general insurance. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) regulates and promotes the insurance sector in India, issuing licenses to companies and setting rules on capitalization, investments, and consumer protection.

1. Insurance: Concept and importance
Insurance is pooling of risks. In a contract of
insurance, the insurer (insurance company)
agrees/undertakes, in consideration of a sum of
money (premium), to make good the loss suffered by
the insured against a specified risk such as fire and
any other similar contingency or compensate the
insured/beneficiaries on the happening of specified
event such as accident or death.

2. Parties to Insurance Contract
•
•
•
•
Two parties to an insurance contract:
(i) insurer/assurer/underwriter and
(ii) insured/assured/beneficiary
Insurance Policy: The document laying down the
terms of the contract is called insurance policy.
• The property which is insured is the subject matter
of insurance.

3. Subject matter of insurance
• It may be insured against loss arising from uncertain
events/casualties/perils in the form of destruction of,
or damage to, the property or death/disablement of
a person.
• The interest which the insured has in the subjectmatter of insurance is known as insurable interest.

4. Types of insurance
• Depending on the subject-matter, the types of
insurance are the following:
• Life Insurance, under which a specified amount
becomes payable on the death of the insured or
upon the expiry of a specified period of time,
whichever is earlier.
• General Insurance, which covers losses caused by
fire, accident and marine adventures and so on.

5. Meaning of Life Insurance business
• Life business means the business of effecting
contracts of insurance upon human life, including
any contract whereby the payment of money is
assured on death or the happening of any
contingency dependent on human life, and should be
deemed to include
(a) grant of disability and double/triple indemnity
accident benefits,
(b) grant of annuities upon human life and

6. • C. Grant of superannuation allowance/ annuities
payable out of any fund applicable solely to the relief
and maintenance of person engaged; or who have
been
engaged
in
any
particular
profession/trade/employment; or of the dependents
of such persons.

7. General Insurance business
• is defined to mean fire, marine/miscellaneous
insurance business whether carried on singly or in
combination with one/more of them.
• Fire insurance business means the business of
effecting, other than incidental, to some other class
of insurance business, contracts of insurance against
loss by or incidental to fire or other occurrence
customarily included among the risks insured against
in fire insurance policies.

8. Marine insurance business means
• the business of effecting contracts of
insurance upon vessels of any description
including cargos, freights and other interests
which may be legally insured in or in relations
to such vessels, cargos and freights,
goods/wares/merchandise/property of whatever description insured for any transit by land
or water or both and whether or not including
warehouse risks or similar risks in addition or

9. • As incidental to such transit, and includes any
other risks customarily included among the
risks insured in marine insurance policies.
• Miscellaneous insurance business means the
business of effecting contracts of insurance
which is not principally or wholly of any kind/
kinds included in fire, life, and marine
insurance.

10. Insurance business prior to IRDA
• Both Life and General Insurance business is
carried out by public sector enterprises:
• Business of life is controlled and managed by
the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)
• Business of general insurance is controlled and
managed by General Insurance Corporation of
India (GIC) and its four subsidiaries.

11. Need for reforms in insurance sector
• To improve the quality insurance services in
the country, the Malhotra Committee was
formed and recommended a comprehensive
frame work of reform in the insurance sector.
• The main elements of frame work are the
Insurance Act,1938,
• Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority Act,1999, and regulations framed

12. • under it by the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (IRDA).
• Apart from public sector enterprises those are
doing business of insurance in our country, the
private sector was also allowed to enter in the
business of insurance subject to compliance of
the provision of relevant acts.

13. Insurance Act,1938
• This Act provides the broad framework for the
insurance sector in the country. Vital aspects:
• Eligibility: Any class of insurance business in India
can be carried out only by (i) a public company ,
(ii) a co-operative society, (iii) an insurance cooperative society, having paid-up capital of Rs.
100 crore, in which no body corporate holds
more than 26 per cent of its paid-up capital and
whose sole purpose is to carry on insurance
business in India

14. • iv) a body corporate other than a private
company incorporated in any country outside
India.
• After the enactment of the IRDA Act,1999,
only Indian insurance companies are
permitted to carry out any class of insurance
business.

15. Indian Insurance Company
• is defined as a company formed/registered
under the Companies Act, in which the
aggregate holding of equity shares by a
foreign company, either by itself or through
subsidiaries/nominees, does not exceed 26
per cent paid-up equity capital and whose sole
purpose to carry on life/general/reinsurance
business.

16. Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority (IRDA) Act,1999
• The IRDA Act was enacted in 1999 to provide for the
establishment of the IRDA to protect the interests of
policy holders, to regulate, promote and ensure
proper growth of the insurance sector and for
matters connected therewith/incidental thereto and
also amend the Insurance Act,1938, the LIC Act,1956
and the General Insurance Business (Nationalization)
Act,1972.

17. Composition of IRDA
• The IRDA would consist of a chairperson and not more than
nine members amongst persons of ability, integrity and
standing who have knowledge/experience of life insurance/
general
insurance/actuarial
service,
finance/
economics/law/accountancy/administration/any
other
discipline which in the opinion of the government would be
useful to it. Among the chairperson and the full-time
directors, at least one person each is required to have
knowledge/experience of life, general insurance or actuarial
science respectively.

18. Duties/Powers/Functions of IRDA
Regulate, promote and ensure proper growth of the insurance and reinsurance businesses.
Powers & Functions are furnished hereunder:
• Issue to the applicant a certificate of registration; to renew, modify, withdraw, suspend or
cancel such registration; preference in registration to be given to companies providing with
health insurance
• Protection of the interests of policy holders in matters concerning assigning of policy,
nomination by policy holders, insurable interest, settlement of insurance claim, surrender
value of policy, and other terms & conditions of contracts of insurance
• Specifying requisite qualifications and practical training for insurance agents and
intermediaries
• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors
• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business
• Promoting and regulating professional organizations connected with the insurance and
reinsurance business, levying fees and other charges for carrying out the purposes of the IRDA
Act
• Calling for information from, undertaking inspection of conducting enquiries and
investigations, including audit of insurers, insurance intermediaries and other organizations
connected with the insurance business
• Control and regulations of rates, terms and conditions that may be offered by insurers in
respect of general insurance business not so controlled and regulated by the Tariff Advisory
Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act,1938

19. Power and Functions of IRDA
• Specifying the form and manner in which
books of account would be maintained and
statement of accounts rendered by insurers
and insurer intermediaries
• Regulating investment of funds by insurance
companies; regulating of margin of solvency
• Adjudication of disputes between insurers and
intermediaries or insurance intermediaries

20. Powers and Functions of IRDA
• Supervising the functioning of the Tariff Advisory
Committee
• Specifying the premium income of the insurer to
finance schemes for promoting and regulating
professional organization referred to above
• Specifying the percentage of life insurance and
general insurance business to be under-taken by
the insurer in the rural & social sector
• Exercising such other powers as may be
prescribed

21. Powers & Functions of IRDA
• The powers and functions mentioned at earlier
slides would enable the IRDA to perform the role
of an effective watch dog and regulator for the
insurance sector in India.
• Issue of directions The IRDA would be bound by
the directions of the Government on questions of
policy, other than those relating to technical and
administrative matters, in writing from time to
time. The decision of the Government, whether a
question is one of the policy or not would be final

22. • Registration Every application for registration
to carry on insurance business should be
made in such manner as may be determined
by regulations made by the IRDA; preference
in registration would be given to the
companies providing health insurance.
• The registration fee would be determined
• by the IRDA regulations not exceeding Rs
50000 for each class of business.

23. Renewal of Registration
• An insurer, who has been granted a certificate of registration
should have the registration renewed annually with each year
ending on March 31 after the commencement of the IRDA
Act.
• Capital The minimum paid up equity capital would be Rs
100 crore to carry on life/general insurance business and Rs
200 crore to exclusive do reinsurance business Deposit Every
Insurer in India has to keep a deposit in respect of insurance
business with the RBI for and on behalf of the government in
cash/approved securities estimated at the market value on
the day of deposit. This is 1 per cent and 3 per cent of his
total gross premium written in India in any financial year but
not exceeding Rs 10 crore in case of life insurance and general
insurance businesses respectively. In case of reinsurance
business the deposit requirement is Rs 20 crore.

24. Investment
• In the interest of policy holders specify the time,
manner and other conditions of investment of assets
held by an insurer for the purpose of the Insurance
Act. Talking into account the nature of business and
to protect the interest of the policy holders, the IRDA
may also issue directions to insurers relating to the
time, manner and other conditions of investment of
assets held by them.