IRDAI

IRDAI — the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India — is the statutory regulator of the Indian insurance industry, established under the IRDA Act 1999 and headquartered in Hyderabad. It licenses insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries (agents, brokers, web aggregators, corporate agents), surveyors, and third-party administrators, and it supervises their conduct across solvency, product design, claims handling, advertising, and grievance redressal. Its scope covers life insurance, general insurance, health insurance, and reinsurance.

IRDAI issues regulations (binding on industry participants), circulars (clarifications and directions), and master circulars (consolidated reissuances). Key regulations Indian policyholders encounter include the Protection of Policyholders' Interests Regulations (prescribing free-look periods, claim-settlement timelines, grievance procedures), the Health Insurance Regulations (standardising waiting periods, portability, pre-existing disease definitions), the Unit Linked Insurance Products Regulations (charge caps, fund management norms), and the Insurance Intermediaries Regulations (licensing and conduct for agents and brokers). IRDAI also runs the Bima Bharosa grievance portal, the IIB (Insurance Information Bureau) data repository, and the Ombudsman scheme through the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen.

Worked example: if your health insurer delays settling a valid ₹2. 3 lakh reimbursement claim beyond the 30-day statutory window without a deficiency notice, IRDAI regulations entitle you to interest at 2 percentage points above the bank rate from the date of last document submission until payout, and you can escalate the delay first to the insurer's grievance cell, then to IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal, and finally to the Insurance Ombudsman. A common misconception is that IRDAI directly handles individual claim disputes.

It does not adjudicate claims — that is the role of the insurer's internal grievance cell and, on escalation, the Ombudsman or the consumer forum. IRDAI receives complaints through Bima Bharosa and ensures the insurer responds within defined timelines, but it does not act as a court. Another common misconception is that IRDAI guarantees insurer solvency.

It supervises solvency and mandates a minimum Solvency Ratio of 150%, and it has intervened when an insurer has fallen below the threshold, but there is no sovereign guarantee of insurer obligations. Buyers should check the solvency ratio and claim-settlement history disclosed in IRDAI's annual report before choosing an insurer for a long-dated commitment. Related: Bima Bharosa, Insurance Ombudsman, Solvency Ratio.