Online insurance is the talk of the day for agents

IRDAI is planning to put in place an insurance self-network platform which could be used by an agent to sell and service products on behalf of registered insurers.

“The insurance self-network platform will be available as a regular internet website or as a mobile app or both,” Randip Singh Jagpal, Senior Joint Director, IRDAI, said.

The objective is to promote e-commerce in the insurance space, which will lower the cost of transacting insurance business and bring higher efficiencies and greater reach.

“E-commerce is seen as an effective medium to increase insurance penetration and bring financial inclusion in a cost-efficient manner,” Jagpal said.

All products approved under the regulations will be allowed to be sold through these platforms and they should be prefixed with the letter “i-” to distinguish them from regular products.

From both the industry and consumer angles this move will have significant implications. Till now, only insurers and web-aggregators were allowed to sell online. But now, many others in the distribution chain will also be able to sell online, according to Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive Vice-President – Marketing, Product, Analytics Digital & E-commerce, HDFC Life.

“This is the first time that IRDAI has recognised such a platform with robust security features. Even differential pricing of products will be permitted,” he said, adding that the move will help insurers cut costs.