There can be Corporate Bima Vahak, who are legal person registered in accordance with the respective laws of India and can be engaged by an insurer and Individual Bima Vahak, who can be individuals either appointed by an insurer or appointed by a Corporate Bima Vahak
A Bima Vahak can only sell and service the Bima Vistar, a combo product with a mix of basic life, health and personal accident and home cover approved by the IRDAI and such other insurance products specifically approved by the insurance regulator
A Bima Vahak work with only one life insurer, one general insurer and one health insurer and additionally where permitted by the IRDAI, with the Agriculture Insurance Company
Hyderabad:
Issuing draft guidelines for a new set of insurance intermediaries in the country’s rural areas known as ‘Bima Vahaks (BV), the IRDAI on Thursday has asked the insurers to establish this dedicated distribution channel that is focused on enhancing insurance inclusion and creating awareness in every Gram Panchayat, thereby improving accessibility and availability of insurance in every nook and corner of the country.
After getting suggestions from all the stake holders on the proposed `Bima Vahak Guidelines’, the insurance regulator will finalise the regulations.
Insurers have to Identify and develop resources locally who understand and appreciate local needs within every Gram Panchayat and village, especially encouraging, onboarding of women who can gain trust of locals as Bima Vahaks for distribution and servicing of insurance products.
A Bima Vahak can only sell and service the Bima Vistar, a combo product with a mix of basic life, health and personal accident and home cover approved by the IRDAI and such other insurance products specifically approved by the insurance regulator.
IRDAI is yet to approve any Bima Vistar products. which have a floater feature for the health component.
“The Bima Vahak initiative holds immense promise for the future and will be a powerful force to enhance insurance inclusion and awareness. With the Bima Vahaks engaging with the diverse needs and aspirations in every Gram Panchayat, insurers can adapt their offerings to provide comprehensive coverage and address emerging financial protection needs, said, Prashant Tripathy, MD & CEO of Max Life Insurance for your reference.
“As we progress towards the ambitious goal of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’, the Bima Vahaks will serve as the backbone of our efforts to extend insurance coverage to every Indian, regardless of their geographical location, thus becoming instrumental in fostering trust and reliability across the community,” he said.
A Bima Vahak can work with only one life insurer, one general insurer and one health insurer and additionally where permitted by the IRDAI, with the Agriculture Insurance Company.
There can be `Corporate Bima Vahak’, who are legal person registered in accordance with the respective laws of India and can be engaged by an insurer and `Individual Bima Vahak’, who can be individuals either appointed by an insurer or appointed by a Corporate Bima Vahak.
Bima Vahak can be deployed for the purpose of solicitation of insurance business and to facilitate policy and claims servicing, said the IRDAI.
Insurers and Corporate Bima Vahaks can’t engage individual Bima Vahaks appointed by another Corporate Bima Vahak or by another insurer.
Insurance agents, Point of Sale Persons (POSPs) or any other insurance intermediary can’t be appointed as Bima Vahaks.
Lead Insurers of each State / Union Territory will coordinate deployment of resources to ensure maximum coverage of Gram Panchayats as per the following structure, said the IRDAI.
The expenses will be divided among state’s lead life insurer (40 per cent) state’s lead general insurer(40 per cent) lead health insurer (20 per cent), and rest of the insurers( 15 per cent).
Further, every insurer will identify a nearest local office to every Gram Panchayat and designate a Complaints Handling Officer in such office, to specifically attend to the complaints, if any, against Bima Vahak(s). The insurer has establish the necessary complaints handling process to ensure speedy resolution, said the IRDAI.