The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on January 03, 2025, issued the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Maintenance of Information by the Regulated Entities and Sharing of Information by the Authority) Regulations 2025.
The following are the objectives of these regulations:
• Insurers to maintain data as required for its operations in electronic form; to ensure security and compliance with applicable laws; and to adopt an established data governance framework.
• Insurers and the intermediaries including insurance intermediaries to maintain all basic, necessary and relevant data and information to enable the investigating officer appointed under Section 33 of the Insurance Act, 1938 to investigate or inspect the affairs of any insurer, intermediaries including insurance intermediaries and report to the Authority on any such investigation.
• Authority to share information judiciously considering the principles of confidentiality, including consent, disclosure, security, rights and interests of the stakeholders who own or provide such information to the Authority.
The key provisions of these regulations are as stated:
• Information sought by the Requesting entity from the Authority about the Requested entity may be categorized as:
o Information available in public domain of either Authority or Regulated entities or Requested entities or any other statutory/public body.
o Information not available in public domain, but available with the Authority.
• The purpose for seeking the information may include:
o for carrying out statutory or regulatory functions or for the lawful performance of the functions of the Requesting entity:
i. by regulators established in India.
ii. by the public authorities/domestic bodies such as the Government / Judiciary/ Law enforcement agencies.
iii. by international Supervisors.
o for general consumption of the public under Section 20 of the Insurance Act, 1938 or any other applicable laws.
• Authority to consider each request on merit:
o Each request for the information sought shall be considered on merit before taking a decision on sharing.
o The Authority reserves the right not to share any information which could possibly impact the stability of its Regulated entity or the insurance sector as a whole or to protect the public interest or policyholder’s interest.
• Every insurer shall maintain a record of every policy issued and a record of every claim made as per clause (a) and (b) of sub section (1) of section 14 of the Act and ensure that:
o Such records are complete and accurate and be maintained in electronic form irrespective of maintenance in any other form.
o The system of maintenance shall have necessary security features and data governance framework.
o Such records including those held in electronic mode, pertaining to all the policies issued and all claims made in India shall be held in data centres located and maintained in India only.
• Every insurer shall maintain at their principal place of business in India:
o all records, information, data, documents, books or registers required to be maintained by them under the extant provisions of the Act, Rules, Regulations, Guidelines, Circulars or Directions applicable to the insurers and provisions of any other law, as applicable to its business, and
o The items of information specified in Schedule – I to these regulations, as applicable to their business.
• The information to be maintained in terms of these regulations being the ‘minimum information’, the insurer, intermediary and insurance intermediary are expected to maintain all the relevant information, documentation, and related papers with respect to the specific function which it carries. In addition, the Authority may specify additional information to be maintained by the insurers, intermediaries and insurance intermediaries as may be considered necessary by it, from time to time.
These Regulations shall come into force from January 03, 2025.
For more details, please refer to the document provided below.
[Notification No. IRDAI/Reg/4/211/2025]
