Frequently Asked Questions on Insurance
1. What is Insurance
Repository?
“Insurance Repository”
means a company formed and registered under the Companies Act,1956 (1 of 1956)
and which has been granted a certificate of registration by Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for maintaining data of insurance
policies in Electronic form on behalf of insurers. The Insurance Repositories
provide the ease of holding
Insurance policies
issued in an electronic form.
2. What is the objective
of an Insurance Repository?
The objective of
creating an insurance repository is to provide policyholders a facility to keep
insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes, modifications
and revisions in the insurance policy with speed and accuracy. In addition, the
repository acts as a single stop for several policy service requirements. The
Insurance repository system also brings about efficiency and transparency in
the issuance and maintenance of insurance policies.
3. Can any
individual/firm act as an Insurance Repository?
No, Only an entity which
is registered under Company’s Act and who is granted a ‘Certificate of Registration’
by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) can act as an Insurance
Repository.
4. Can Insurance
repository sell/solicit Insurance policy?
No, Insurance
repositories cannot sell/solicit insurance policies. They are authorized only
to maintain the policies in electronic form and provide a service record of all
insurance policies.
5. What is an eIA
(e-Insurance account)?
e-IA stands for
e-Insurance Account or “Electronic Insurance Account” which will safeguard the insurance
policy documents of policyholders in electronic format. This e-Insurance
account will facilitate the policyholder by providing access to the insurance
portfolio at a click of a button through internet. IRDA has granted the
Certificate of Registration to the following five entities to act as ‘Insurance
repositories’ that are authorized to open e-Insurance Accounts.
M/s NSDL Database
Management Limited
M/s Central Insurance
Repository Limited
M/s SHCIL Projects
Limited
M/s Karvy Insurance
Repository Limited
M/s CAMS Repository
Services Limited
Each e-Insurance Account
will have a unique Account number and each account holder will be Granted a
unique Login ID and Password to access the electronic policies online.
6. Do I need to pay for
opening of e-Insurance Account or on periodic basis?
No, e-Insurance account
is offered ‘free of cost’ to the applicants.
7. Can any individual
open more than one e-insurance account with any Insurance Repository?
No, as per the IRDA
guidelines, an individual cannot open multiple e-Insurance accounts.
8. Who is an Approved
Person (AP)?
An Approved Person is a
Point of Sale (PoS) appointed by Insurance Repository and will be working on
behalf of Insurance Repository to extend the IR services.
9. What is an
e-Insurance account application form? Where can it be obtained from?
An e-Insurance account
application form is one that is used by an individual to open an e-insurance
account with the Insurance Repository. This form would be available with
Insurance Company, Insurance Repository or an Approved Person.
10. What are the
requirements to be completed for opening an e-Insurance account?
An e-Insurance account
holder or policyholder is required to
a. Fill the e-Insurance
account form and
b. Submit
· Photo ID,
· Recent passport size
photograph,
· Cancelled Cheque (In case of ECS/NEFT services for insurance
premium payment transaction)
· Address proof
to the office of
Insurance Repository or Insurance company or authorized Approved Person (AP) appointed
by Insurance Repository.
11. List of valid KYC
documents:
Identity Proof (Any One)
· PAN card
· UID
Address Proof (Any One)
· Ration Card
· Passport
· Aadhar
letter
· Voter ID
card
· Driving
license
· Bank
Passbook (not more than 6 months old)
· Verified
copies of
·
Electricity bills (not more than 6 months old),
· Residence Telephone
bills (not more than 6 months old)
· Registered Lease and
License agreement / Agreement for sale.
· Self-declaration
by High Court and Supreme Court judges, giving the new address in respect of
their own accounts.
· Identity
card/document with address, issued by
· Central/State
Government and its Departments,
· Statutory/Regulatory
Authorities,
· Public Sector
Undertakings,
· Scheduled Commercial
Banks,
· Public Financial
Institutions,
· Colleges affiliated to
universities; and
· Professional Bodies
such as ICAI, ICWAI, Bar Council etc. to their Members
12. Can I open an
e-Insurance account without having a life or non life policy for my own self?
Yes, an individual who
is not having any insurance policy can open an e-Insurance account.
After buying a policy,
the policyholder can give a request for dematerialization to the Insurer or Insurance
Repository or Approved Person.
13. How many days does it
take to open an e-Insurance account after all the necessary
Formalities are
completed?
An e-Insurance account
will be opened within 7 days from the date of submission of application complete
in all respects. Once, an account is opened, a welcome kit with the details of
how to Operate the same would be sent to the applicant/e-Insurance account
holder.
14. How will I come to
know that my e-Insurance account has been opened & how will I receive my
User ID & Password?
Once e-Insurance account
is created, you will receive a welcome kit. A pin mailer shall be sent separately.
Using the login credentials and PIN, you can access and start using your e- Insurance
account.
15. Can I convert my
existing paper polices into electronic policies?
Yes, it is possible to
convert the existing paper policies into electronic form. A service request may
be made to the Insurance Repository or Insurer or the Approved person in this
regard.
16. If I already have an
e-Insurance account, how do I buy a new policy in electronic form?
Once you have opened an
e Insurance Account, to buy a new policy in electronic form, you just need to quote your
unique e-Insurance account number in your new insurance proposal form and make
a request to issue policy in an electronic form.
17. Which are the
insurance policies that can be held in electronic form?
All Life insurance,
Health insurance, General insurance & Annuity policies that are issued by registered
insurance companies with IRDA and who have signed up with the Insurance Repositories
are eligible to be held in the electronic form.
18. How can I come to
know that my policy is successfully credited into my e-Insurance Account?
You will receive a mail
and SMS on your registered e-mail id and mobile number.
19. What are the charges
for maintaining policies in electronic form?
All the services
provided by Insurance repositories are FREE of charge.
20. What are the
benefits of holding Insurance Policies in electronic form?
The following are the
broad benefits of holding Insurance Policies in electronic form:
Safety: There is no risk
of loss or damage of a policy as is common with paper policies; the Electronic
form ensures that the policies are in safe custody and can be easily accessed whenever
and wherever needed. A copy of the policy can be downloaded at any time by accessing
the e-Insurance account.
Convenience: All insurance
policies, be it life, pension, health or general, can be electronically held
under a single e-Insurance account. This means all details of all policies are
available in a single account (place). The details of any of the policies can
be accessed at any time by logging on to the online portal of Insurance
Repository.
Single Point of Service: Service requests
in respect of e-Insurance account or any of the electronic policy can be
submitted at any of Insurance Repository’s service points. A single request can
sometimes cater to the requirements of several Insurers. As an illustration, a single
change of address request made to the Insurance Repository can update the
policies issued by multiple Insurers. There would be no need to go to several
offices of individual Insurers for service.
Less Paper work and
savings in time: An e-Insurance account holder is freed from the trouble of
submitting KYC details each time a new policy is taken. Further, any changes in
personal details like address or contact number can be effected through a
single request thus saving on paper and time.
Statement of Account: At least once
every year, the Insurance repository would send a statement of account to the
e–Insurance account holder with the details of the policies of the account
holder.
Payment Options: Premium for all
the policies can be paid online and several service requests can be logged from
the e-Insurance account.
Increased number of
service touch points: Since, the Insurance repositories function in addition to
the Insurers, the policyholders will have increased number of touch points for
having their servicing needs attended.
Easy payout transfers: Policy benefits
would be paid through electronic facility to the registered bank account, thus
ensuring speedier and convenient settlement.
Single view: Single view of all
policies will be made available to an authorized person in case of death of the
e-Insurance account holder.
21. What all policy
details will be available in the e-insurance account?
A list of all policies
that are credited will be available in the e-Insurance account. For each
policy, policy level details like the status, commencement, maturity/expiry,
nomination, assignment, endorsement, address, terms and conditions etc., would
be available. In addition, the e-Insurance account holder will be able to
download a copy of the policy bond.
22. What is the
procedure to effect changes in my policy or e-Insurance Account?
Should the request be
made to the Insurance Company or IR?
All requests in respect
of either your e-Insurance account or any of the electronic policies may be
made to the Insurance Repository. However, requests in respect of the policies
can also be made directly with the Insurer concerned.
Upon a request, the Insurance
repository would handle all servicing needs that fall within scope of their
services directly and would forward the others to the Insurer concerned. An
update to the policyholder would be provided by the Insurance Repository on the
status of the request in respect of all the requests that it receives.
23. Who is an Authorized
Representative and what is his/her role?
An Authorized
Representative is a person who is appointed by e-Insurance account holder to operate
his/her e-Insurance account in case of unfortunate demise or incapability of e-
Insurance account holder to operate the account. The Authorized Representative
will intimate the Insurance Repository about the demise/incapability of
policyholder with valid proof.
An Authorized
Representative has only access rights to the e-Insurance account in the event
of demise of the policy holder. The Authorized Representative would only act as
a facilitator and is not entitled to receive any policy benefits unless
designated as a ‘nominee’ or ‘assignee’ by the deceased policy holder.
24. Can an Authorized
Representative be changed?
Yes, Authorized
Representative can be changed by making a request to the Insurance Repository.
25. Can ‘Nominee’ and
‘Authorized Representative’ be the same person?
Yes, both Nominee and
Authorized Representative can be the same person.
26. What is the
grievances redressal mechanism at Insurance Repository?
Every Insurance
repository will have a policyholders’ grievances cell to address the grievances
in respect of repository services and electronic policies held by them.
27. What communications
shall the e-Insurance account holder receive in a hard copy?
Welcome Kit
with details of e-Insurance Account and modus operandi of its operation, the
login ID.
A Pin
mailer with the password.
The
statement of account giving the details of all policies held whenever
additional insurance is taken or a policy matures/ surrendered/ lapses would be
provided to the e-insurance account holder.
When a new
policy is issued the insurer shall send an insurance information sheet
containing the basic details of insurance policy to the address stated.
28. Is it possible to
shift from one Insurance repository to the other?
Yes, the e-Insurance
account holder will have an option to shift from one Insurance Repository to
the other. All the policy details and transaction history would then be
transferred to the new Insurance repository.
29. Is it possible to
opt out of the Insurance repository system?
Yes, the policyholder
shall make a request to his insurer and upon completion of all formalities in
respect of the same, the hard copy of the policy document shall be made
available.
30. How will the
Authorized person deal with the e-Insurance account?
After the demise of the
e-Insurance account holder and after settlement of all insurance claims, the
Authorized representative needs to make a request to the Insurance Repository
to close the e-Insurance account.
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