The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has appointed Subhash C. Khuntia as its new Chairman, and has granted approval to 16 Cross-Border Reinsurers (CBRs) for the 2018-19 financial year.
Khuntia has extensive experience working in administrative sectors of the Indian Central Government, including roles in the Ministries of Finance, Human Resource Development, and Petroleum and Natural Gas.
He has also served in the Government of the Karnataka state, working in the Departments of Finance, Revenue, Personnel, Urban Development, Public Works, and Ports, and retired as the regional Government’s Chief Secretary.
Khuntia will succeed former IRDAI Chairman T. S. Vijayan, who completed his five-year term in February 2018, leaving the post vacant since then.
“The ACC has approved the appointment of Shri Subhash Chandra Khuntia…to the post of Chairperson, IRDAI for a period of three years w.e.f. the date of assumption of charge of the post, or till the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest,” said IRDAI’s statement.
Concurrently, IRDAI has released a circular listing the country’s 16 authorised CBRs, which were granted special approval on the basis of submissions and recommendations made by re/insurers.
The term CBR refers to reinsurers that do business with Indian re/insurance companies without having any established physical presence in the country.
The list of authorised CBRs includes Kenya’s Zep Re, Nepal Re, China’s PICC Re, Bhutan’s GIC, as well as additional state-backed and private companies from 10 other countries.
India’s regulatory body currently implements an ‘order of preference’ rule that gives preferential treatment to domestic re/insurers like GIC Re for any business written in India, and recently issued a statement reminding companies to comply with these guidelines.
