Insurance Repository (IR)
Means a Company formed and registered under the
Companies Act, 2013.
Which has been granted a certificate of registration by
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
To maintain data of insurance policies in electronic form
on behalf of Insurers.
(Similar to a Demat Account, enables policy holders to buy
and keep insurance policies in electronic form, rather than
as a paper document)
Insurance Repositories in India
IRDA originally issued licenses to five entities to act as
Insurance Repositories
However, one out of them (SHCIL Projects Limited)
surrendered its Repository license in 2015. The remaining four
are:
- CDSL Insurance Repository Limited (CDSL IR)
- Karvy Insurance Repository Limited.
- National Insurance-policy Repository by NSDL Database
Management Limited.
- CAMS Insurance Repository Services Limited.
All such entities must contain the words "Insurance
Repository" in their names.
Benefits/Functions of Repository
Insurance Repository system was introduced in 2011 to
provide policyholders a facility to keep insurance policies in
electronic form and to undertake changes/ revisions easily.
Some benefits are:
Aggregation and Single View
Safety : Elimination of paper & Storage risks.
Convenience : Single Point of Contact
Service on demand and Increased touchpoints
Efficiency & Transparency
Ease of maintenance
Reduced Premium
Electronic Insurance Account (eIA)
The electronic account opened by a person with an Insurance
Repository is called E-Insurance account (eIA)
Herein, the portfolio of all insurance policies held by a
policyholder is visible in electronic form.
Its opening as well as maintaining is free of charge.
Each e-Insurance Account will have a unique Account number
and each account holder is granted a unique login ID and
password to access the same.
As per the IRDA guidelines, an individual can have only a single
e-Insurance Account across IRs. However, he can shift it from
one Repository to another.
Some Other Terms
“Approved Person” means an entity appointed by an
insurance repository as its agent to perform certain
assigned tasks incidental to its functions.
“Authorized Representative” : The policyholder can
appoint an Authorized Representative (optional) who can
access the e-Insurance Account on the demise/disability of
the policyholder to facilitate the nominees in the claim
processing. AR can be same as nominee or different.
iTREX: All transactions carried between IRs and Insurance
companies are routed and monitored through central index
server (iTREX) governed by IRDAI. (Digital platform)
Insurance Repository (IR) – some Q
Can Repository sell Insurance Policies?
IR cannot sell/solicit insurance policies. They are authorized only to
maintain the policies in electronic form and provide a service record
of all policies.
What all policies can be stored in IR?
All Life insurance, Health insurance & General insurance policies that
are issued by insurance companies registered with IRDAI and who
have signed up with the Insurance Repositories are eligible to be
stored.
Is it possible to convert an existing paper policy?
Yes, you can convert the existing paper policies also into electronic
form. A service request may be made to the Insurance Repository or
Insurer or the Approved person in this regard.
E-Insurance Account - Relevance
Example: Mr. A is a firm believer in insurance and has taken
quite a few insurance policy like life insurance (2 policies),
comprehensive automobile insurance, health insurance with
critical illness rider etc.
However, he is finding it difficult to manage policy
documents for all, remember premium dates and is afraid
his family members will find it even more difficult in his
absence.
He can open an e-insurance account with an Insurance
Repository of his choice OR ask his insurer to help him open
one. Then he can covert his existing paper policies also into
electronic form, handle all with ease and access them
through a single user id and password.
References/ Further Reading
[Link]
(Contains Indian Insurance Market snapshot, guidance on buying Insurance/
making a claim/ complaints/ related laws and weblinks incl. IRDAI, NCFE etc)
Insurance Repository System Handbook (Objectives & Process)
