What is an Insurance Repository?-VRK100-16Sep2013

The finance minister P Chidambaram today launched the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s Insurance Repository System (IRS) at its headquarters in Hyderabad. The IRS will digitize the life insurance policies of all subscribers of all life insurance companies in India. This facility will soon be extended to non-life insurance policies also. IRDA is the Indian government’s regulatory agency for the insurance sector. All the existing policies can be converted to electronic form. And policyholders can opt for an e-insurance policy in electronic form instead of a physical policy.

The idea of providing life insurance policies of all policyholders in demat form was originally suggested by the then president Abdul Kalam in September 2006. It has taken six years for the idea to take a concrete shape.

What is an insurance repository?

An insurance repository is a company authorized by IRDA to maintain data of insurance policies in electronic form on behalf of insurers. It will provide policyholders a facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes and modifications in policies as requested by the policyholders. If a person is having multiple policies from different insurance companies, she can put all her policies under one roof by opening an e-Insurance account with any one of the insurance repositories authorized by IRDA.

This e-Insurance account is similar to a demat account used for keeping all shares in a single account. Existing insurance policies can be converted to electronic form by applying to the insurance repository. Even new policies can be brought under this e-Insurance account. With this, policyholders can avoid storing policies in physical form.

What are the benefits of this e-Insurance account?

This account facilitates safe-keeping of all your insurance policies under one roof (in a single account at one place). Policyholders have easy access, through online login, to this account and they can download their policies whenever they need them. For any services, they need to contact only the respective insurance repository, which provides a single point of service. They need not contact all the insurance companies separately. Change of address can be easily done saving time. Policyholders will receive a physical statement every year. Even payment of premiums for all policies can be made through a single e-Insurance account. Moreover, the policy benefits after maturity can be directly credited to a bank account designated by the policyholder.

Who are the authorized insurance repositories?

At present, IRDA has the authorized the following five companies as repositories:

1. NSDL Database Management Ltd

2. Central Insurance Repository Ltd

3. SHCIL Projects Ltd

4. Karvy Insurance Repository Ltd

5. CAMS Repository Services Ltd

Other Features:

An e-Insurance account can be opened free of cost by policyholders. Only a single e-Insurance account can be opened by a single person—which means that a person cannot open multiple e-Insurance accounts. IRDA website states that all the services provided by insurance repositories are free of charge.

This is a good initiative by IRDA for the benefit of all policyholders.

Reference: http://irda.gov.in/

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Disclaimer: The author is an investment analyst, equity investor and freelance writer. This write-up is for information purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Investors are advised to consult their financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. He blogs at:

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