Irdai sets up panel to evaluate application under regulatory sandbox

Insurance regulator Irdai has set up a committee to evaluate applications filed under the Regulatory Sandbox approach to promote innovative ideas to foster growth in insurance sector.

Regulatory Sandbox (RS) usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may permit certain relaxations for the limited purpose of testing.

With a view to facilitating innovation, the lnsurance Regulatory and Development Authority of lndia (lRDAl) has adopted a Regulatory Sandbox approach with an objective to recognise innovative ideas to foster growth in the insurance sector, in a way that provides flexibility in dealing with regulatory requirements and at the same time ensuring policyholder protection.

The regulator has started receiving applications for Regulatory Sandbox from September 15 and the applications are from diverse areas of the insurance value chain including innovative insurance sales and servicing aspects encompassing innovative technologies and products.

To evaluate such applications, the regulator formed an eight-member panel headed by International Institute of Information Technology (Bangalore) Director S Sadagopan, Irdai said in a statement.

The Committee with one-year tenure will meet as often as required and may invite experts on a specific topic and will submit its recommendations on the applications to the Irdai Chairman for his consideration, it said.

As per the terms of reference, the panel will screening of applications received for the Regulatory Sandbox and evaluating the test design of the proposed hypothesis.

It will recommend applications for taking up for experimentation and evaluate the outcome of the experiments undertaken, the statement added.