Irda's IPO norms for general insurance in two months

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) today said it would finalise guidelines for public offer by general insurance companies in a couple of months.

As for life insurance, the guidelines are almost ready and would be out shortly, it added.

"As regards the non-life companies, a lot of work has to be done on valuation and (guidelines) should be ready in a couple of months," the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman J Harinarayan told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci conference here.

He said the proposed IPO guidelines for life insurance firms are currently being examined by a Sebi body and will be issued shortly.
    
"As far as the life industry IPO guidelines are concerned, the matter is very advanced and is currently with a body of Sebi. So, it would be coming out shortly," he said.
    
When asked whether the proposed guidelines would have a provision that insurance companies will have to be in operation to float IPO, he said, "Yes, this is the government norm".
    
As per the Insurance Act, promoters having 26 per cent stake can offload equity after 10 years of operation. The legislation also empowers the government to reduce the mandatory period.
    
Irda had already notified the disclosure norms, necessary for providing details about the operations and balance sheets on quarterly and yearly basis. The IPO guidelines will deal with minimum norms that a company must fulfill before hitting the capital markets.
    
Besides, the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation, 22 private companies are offering life insurance policies. The general insurance sector has 21 players which include four state-owned companies.
    
Several private sector insurers, including Reliance Life and HDFC Standard Life, have shown interest in tapping the capital market to augment their resource base.