India’s insurance and reinsurance industry regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), has established a Reinsurance Expert Committee to review the country’s reinsurance framework.
The new committee will be Chaired by ex-IRDAI member M Ramaprasad, and other panel members include Lloyd’s India Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shankar Garigiparthy, Gen Re India CEO, Venkatesh Chakravarty, GIC Re GM & Director, Segar Sampathkumar, among other industry leaders and experts.
Changes in regulation in the country by the enactment of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015 has driven changes in the Indian reinsurance sector, underlined by the entry of a number of foreign players, including the Lloyd’s of London marketplace.
The IRDAI explains that in light of recent developments it has established a Reinsurance Expert Committee, which is made up of 17 members, to review India’s reinsurance framework and make suggestions for improvements.
According to a statement from the IRDAI, terms of reference for the committee include: Review the current regulatory framework for Reinsurance and make suitable recommendations; Study international regulatory framework and practices relating to Reinsurance Pools, Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) and such other mechanisms and make appropriate recommendations for India; Study the existing guidelines for SEZ and make necessary recommendations in the context of various Reinsurance activities and; Make specific recommendations and devise formats for reports and returns required to be submitted to IRDAI.
Furthermore, the panel would be expected to communicate with all relevant stakeholders, including brokers, reinsurers, retrocessionaires, cedents, and so on, before it comes to its recommendations.
The IRDAI reveals that the Committee has until August 31st, 2017 to submit its report on the Indian reinsurance industry, and notes that sub-committees may be established in order to deliver the report.
