Life insurers to have representative body without Irdai members

The council will have four members including one permanent member from LIC

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) members will no longer will be there on the newly-formed Life Insurance Council. The council, which will work on the lines of Indian Banks' Association, will have four members including one permanent member from the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

Currently, the council is led by D D Singh, member (distribution) at Irdai, who is set to retire soon. The other members are V Jayanth Kumar, joint director (life) at Irdai and V Manickam, secretary-general of the Council. After the council is reorganised, the chairperson of the Council will be an industry official.

According to the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act passed by Parliament, council members can authorise any of their officers to act as their representatives at council meetings.

"Unlike the current composition, the Life Insurance Council would have the executive council members from the industry. While regulatory officials were part of the council, we will now have all industry officials. Also, regulatory officials will not be required to be present in the council meetings," said a senior industry official.

According to the revised Insurance Act, the executive committee of the Life Insurance Council will have four representatives nominated by members. The council will have bye-laws to decide on this election.

While no members from Irdai will be on the council's board, they will have the right to nominate some members. The council would have an eminent person not connected with insurance business, nominated by Irda. There would be three persons to represent insurance agents, intermediaries and policyholders, respectively.

The objective of the council is to create a positive image of the insurance sector and enhancing consumer confidence. It is also entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining high standards of ethics and governance and promoting awareness of the role and benefits of life insurance.

The council is a body of insurers, which organises pro-active discussions with the government, lawmakers, and regulators on various issues faced by the sector. It also conducts research on life insurance, publishes monographs and contributes to the development of the sector.