Chennai: The Indian insurance regulator’s move to rationalise some of the regulatory compliance is nothing but a `big sound and fury, signifying nothing’. Perhaps it may rationalise the workload on IRDAI’s actuarial department but not that of the life, non-life and reinsurers, industry experts said.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued a circular whereby life, non-life and reinsurer need not file the following documents relating to the actuarial matters — peer review report, audited annual financial report and financial statements, product planner, a quarterly report on asset-liability management and stress test.
The sectoral regulator has also withdrawn its circulars relating to the standard format for appointment of Appointed Actuary and money market instruments in unit-linked products.
However, the Domestic Systemically Important Insurers have to continue filing the documents.
Nevertheless, the IRDAI in it is rationalisation circular has added that it will call for any document from the insurers as and when required.
“Ideally the rationalisation focus should be on coming out with a comprehensive circular on enabling `use and file’ for new products, fixing the company board responsible for losses suffered by policyholders and insurers liable to pay compensation and on solvency norms,” an actuary told IANS preferring anonymity.
Freeing insurers from filing product planner is of no great help but one positive move on the part of the IRDAI.
Industry officials said the actuarial department of insurers have to file umpteen number of tables with the regulator. A rationalisation of those would have helped the industry.
As regards the actuarial peer review reports, it was originally a professional requirement. Later IRDAI said it should also get the peer review reports.
What has been the outcome of receiving the peer review report by IRDAI is not known. Perhaps it is a `get and file’ process at IRDAI, quipped an industry official.
As regards the ALM report, insurers do that automatically and IRDAI saying that industry players should monitor their ALM positions with internal reporting, analysis as part of their risk management is nothing but stressing the obvious like `you should breathe to live,’ industry officials said.
According to industry officials, ideally, the IRDAI Chairman should meet the insurers and hear out their pain points and come out with a solution rather than coming with a solution for their own pain points.
Recently IRDAI announced holding of an Open House for all the regulated entities on the 15th of every month at its headquarters in Hyderabad.
The Open House will be chaired by the Chairman and in his absence the senior most wholetime member along with other officials.
The IRDAI has requested all the regulated entities – insurers, intermediaries – to make use of this initiative and offer pragmatic solutions to reduce the significant insurance penetration gap in the country.
The interested regulated entities may register their interest to participate on the email – sdd@irdai.gov.in by making a captioned subject ” Open House at 15th ” by the 10th of every month, IRDAI said.
By Venkatachari Jagannathan
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