Irda launches Insurance Repository System

Finance Minister P Chidambaram launched the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's Insurance Repository System (IRS) in Hyderabad on Monday.

Irda said the insurance repository system set up will be the first of its kind in the world.

According to insurance regulator, the objective of creating an insurance repository is to provide policy holders the facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form.

It is also to undertake changes, modifications and revisions in the insurance policy with speed and accuracy in order to bring about efficiency, transparency and cost reduction in the issuance and maintenance of insurance policies.

The repository will issue a unique code number to all policy holders, and their policies will come under that number.

It maintains the history of the policy details such as claims, nominees, beneficiaries and other data.

At the launch, Chidambaram said the IRS will also have digitised non-life insurance policies soon.

Irda recently said five companies - NSDL Database Management, Central Insurance Repository, SHCIL Projects, CAMS Repository Services and Karvy Insurance Repository - have been given the status of insurance repositories and provided with a licence that will be valid till July 31, 2014.

It also said insurers can enter into agreements with one or more repositories.

With inputs from PTI