Policies sold by banks, agents to name sellers

MUMBAI : IRDAI has proposed a sweeping overhaul of insurance regulations in June 2026 after the enactment of the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, introducing new investment avenues, tighter transparency norms for intermediaries, and structural changes aimed at improving market penetration and accountability.The proposals, made under three exposure drafts and three consultation papers, introduce stricter consumer protection measures at the point of sale. Every insurance policy will be digitally tagged to the individual salesperson responsible for the sale, including specified persons, broker qualified persons, insurance sales persons, authorised verifiers, or point of sales persons, enabling traceability and accountability in cases of mis-selling.

At present responsibility is of the organisation in case of policies sold by banks or corporate agents.A key structural reform is the shift from fixed-term licensing to a perpetual registration regime for intermediaries such as thirdparty administrators, insurance surveyors and loss assessors, corporate agents, brokers, and web aggregators. Registrations will remain valid subject to payment of an annual fee, ensuring continuity of services such as claims processing and loss assessment.

To strengthen enforcement, Irdai has increased maximum penalty to Rs 10 crore from Rs 1 crore. According to the framework, the alignment removes gaps between sub-regulations and the parent Act, ensuring uniform enforcement.Corporate agents such as banks and large retail networks must appoint at least one qualified specified person in every branch for insurance solicitation.