Irda asks insurers to display unclaimed amount info of above Rs 1,000

Policyholders would be given an option to check whether any amount is lying due with insurance co

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) on Wednesday said insurance companies will be required to display information about any unclaimed amount above Rs 1,000 on their respective websites.

Policyholders would be given an option in the insurer's website to check whether any amount of theirs is lying due and with the insurance company.

For this, the policyholder would be required to enter their PAN details, policy number, name and date of birth.

While a circular on this issue was issued in February 2014, following representation from insurance bodies, the regulator has made some amendments.

Insurers will be needed to provide this information as of December 31, 2014 by January 31, 2015. Subsequently, this will be uploaded on a half-yearly basis as on March 31 and September 30, by April 30 and October 31 respectively.

For new insurance policies, companies will have to bank details of insured in the proposal form. However, this is not applicable to term insurance (without return of premium), insurance policies with annualised premium up to Rs 25000 and those with bank accounts not linked to RBI Core Banking Solutions.

This circular comes into force from October 1, 2014.