The new IRDAI Chairman has crucial tasks to handle

CHENNAI: Setting the house in order, working towards its core mission of policyholder's interest, speeding up the new company licensing process, avoiding micromanagement are some of the important tasks for the incoming Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), said a cross section of the industry officials.

They also said upward revision of motor third party premium, simplification of its regulations, leveling the playing field are some of the other areas, the officials added.

In short, the incoming head as and when he/she is appointed should convert IRDAI into a vibrant body.

"The IRDAI Chairman's post has been vacant since May this year. It is also not known whether the government is waiting for some bureaucrat to retire so that he/she can be accommodated in IRDAI," industry officials told IANS preferring anonymity.

"It is time the government appoints a person with financial and commercial background and who knows what risks are and how protection is made."

Be that as it may, the incoming chief of IRDAI has several things on his plate to solve before taking on new things.

Industry officials told IANS that the IRDAI has not licensed any new insurer during the past couple of years. Even the Andhra Pradesh government's initiative to set up a crop insurance company is getting delayed, they said.

"Globally in the insurance sector, many things are changing focussed on safeguarding the policyholder's interest, growing the industry and making the players remain solvent," a head of a large non-life insurer told IANS on the condition of anonymity. The industry officials told IANS that IRDAI had gone into micro-managing the sector with various regulations warranting more structures for monitoring resulting in undesirable outcomes.

"The moment you go into granularity, it takes away the focus on insurance. The IRDAI should first address the structural issues," a CEO of a private insurer told IANS. Citing the underwriting losses posted by the non-life insurers he added: "The regulator should ponder whether the companies are into insurance or investment business." (IANS)

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