Hydearabad:
In a bid to manage the situation arising in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak,the segment regulator IRDAI has allowed life Insurers to obtain the customer’s consent without requiring wet signature on the hard copy of the proposal form, for the business solicited by insurance agents / intermediaries, with regard to pure risk products,i.e.,products that do not involve any savings element.
The IRDAI has reserved the right to revoke the above facilitation in respect of any individual Insurer or for all insurers any time, said IRDAI on Thursday..
Earlier,the insurance regulator IRDAI has allowed life insurers to issue new life insurance policies in electronic mode in FY 2020-21.
However,the life insurers have to comply with a few norms to switch over to the new system.which is allowed on an experimental basis with immediate effect till 31st December,2020,
– The completed proposal form has to be sent to the prospect on his/ her registered e-mail ID or mobile number in the form of an e-mail or a message with a link as the case may be.
– The prospect, if he / she wishes to consent to the proposal, may do so by clicking the confirmation link or by validating the OTP shared. The insurer has to maintain verifiable, legally valid evidence for the proposer’s consent received for the fully completed proposal form. Further, the insurer can’t accept any payment of moneys towards proposal deposit till the receipt of consent of the proposer,
– In all such cases,the agent / intermediary has to l confirm that only the approved sales material has been used during the solicitation process. They have to also certify the authenticity of the e-mail ID and/or mobile number of the prospect,.
The life insurers will be responsible for:
-Providing to the insurance agents / intermediaries approved digital sales material and ensuring that only such material is used while soliciting the business,
– Authenticating the e-mail IDs / mobile numbers of the prospects by conducting de-duplication of such data and other such means,
– Ensuring the suitability of the product being purchased,
-Carrying out pre-issuance verification calls in respect of all such proposals,.
Any grievances pertaining to sales logged in through the above method will be separately maintained by the life insurers and a monthly statement has to be submitted to the IRDAI
The IRDAI had received feedback from various life insurers that the situation arising in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak has impacted the traditional manner of canvassing life insurance policies by agents and intermediaries.In particular, the filling-in of the physical proposal forms, obtaining wet signatures on them and subsequent movement of such physical papers, etc., are severely affected.
The life insurers had represented to the IRDAI to allow the option of authenticating the proposals for life insurance through electronic means, in place of physical signature, for the sales made by insurance agents and intermediaries, in addition to the methods presently allowed.