IRDAI sets up Suresh Mathur Committee to review norms for insurance marketing firms

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on June 18, 2018 constituted a committee to review the regulations pertaining to Insurance Marketing Firms (IMF).

The committee is headed by Suresh Mathur, Executive Director (Insurance Marketing Firms), IRDAI and has nine more members.

Terms of reference of Suresh Mathur Committee

• Revisiting the IRDAI (Registration of Insurance Marketing Firms) Regulations, 2015

• Recommend guidelines on the areas on which the regulations are silent

• Recommend for strengthening the distribution channel of insurance marketing firms by taking up products which fall under the jurisdiction of other financial sector regulators.

• The committee will come up with recommendations before July 31, 2018.

Members of the Committee

Reason behind the constitution of the Committee

Considering that the review of the regulations is essential to enable the distribution channel to evolve and to fulfil the objective of spreading insurance coverage to all layers of the society, the IRDAI constituted the 10-member committee.

The new distribution channel of insurance marketing firms was introduced by IRDAI in 2015 with an aim to increase insurance penetration in the country through an area-wise registration approach. The channel has now been in operation for three years.

Firms, which serve as a distribution channel for insurers, are governed by the IRDAI (Registration of Insurance Marketing Firms) Regulations, 2015.