
The Insurance Act, 1938 (“Insurance Act”), includes special provisions obligating insurers to mandatorily source a part of their business from persons residing in rural areas; workers in the unorganised or informal sector, or from economically vulnerable or backward classes of the society.[1] Insurers are also required to underwrite a minimum percentage of insurance business for third-party motor insurance policies, both under the Insurance Act[2] as well as the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (“MV Act”).[3] These requirements were, until recently, implemented through two distinct regulations issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (“IRDAI”) – the IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer to Rural and Social sector) Regulations, 2015 (“RSO Regulations”), and the IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer in Respect of Motor Third Party Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015 (“MTP Regulations”).
Continue Reading IRDAI Regulatory Reform Series: Rural, Social Sector, and Motor Third-Party Obligations