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Core Purpose

Notification by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India amending its Re-insurance Regulations, 2018 and related regulations to harmonize provisions applicable to Indian insurers and re-insurers.

Detailed Summary

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) notification F. No. IRDAI/Reg/5/193/2023 dated 22 August 2023, issued under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938, read with Sections 14 and 26 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, promulgates the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re-insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023, amending three sets of regulations: the IRDAI (Re-insurance) Regulations, 2018, the IRDAI (Registration and Operations of Branch Offices of Foreign Re-insurers other than Lloyd's) Regulations, 2015, and the IRDAI (Lloyd's India) Regulations, 2016. The stated objective is to harmonize provisions applicable to Indian Insurers, Indian Re-insurers, Foreign Re-insurance Branches (FRBs) and IFSC Insurance Offices (IIOs), encourage reinsurers to set up business in India, and enhance ease of doing business. Key amendments include: mandating Indian Re-insurers and FRBs to maintain minimum retention within India of 50% of Indian re-insurance business underwritten, with up to 20% retrocession to an IIO counted toward this; extending the deadline for submission of the proposed and final Re-insurance Programme from 30 to 45 days; requiring CEO certification within 90 days on treaty documentation; setting a minimum assigned capital of Rupees Fifty crore for foreign re-insurer branch offices; and revising the order of preference for cedants seeking re-insurance placements (Category 1: Indian Reinsurers; Category 2: IIOs and FRBs; Category 3: Other IIOs; Category 4: Other Indian Insurers and CBRs). A new Regulation 13 provides transition provisions for existing financial year 2023-24 arrangements. Signed by Debasish Panda, Chairperson.

Full Text

5400 GI/202 3 (1) रजिस्ट्री सं. डी.एल.- 33004/99 REGD. No . D. L. -33004/99 EXTRAORDINARY PART III—Section 4 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 589] NEW DELHI , WEDNES DAY , AUGUST 23, 2023/ BHADRA 1, 1945 CG-DL-E-23082023-248261 INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF INDIA NOTIFICATION HYDERABAD, the 22nd August, 2023 Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re -insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 F. No. IRDAI/ Reg/5/193/2023 .—In exercise of the p owers conferred by Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938, read with Sections 14 and 26 of the Insurance Regulator y and Development Authority Act, 1999, the Authority, in consultation with the Insurance Advisory Committee, hereby makes amendment to the fo llowi ng Regulations. a. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re -insurance) Regulations, 2018. b. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Registration and Operations of Branch Offices of Foreign Re -insurers other than Ll oyd’s ) Regulations, 2015. c. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Lloyd’s India) Regulations, 2 016. 1. Short Title and commencement: i. These Regulations may be called the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re -insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023. ii. These Regulations shall come into force from the date of their publication in the official gazette. 2. Objective: The objective of these amendments is to harmonize the provisions of various regulations applicable to Indian Insurers and Indian Re -insurers including Foreign Re -insurance Branches (FRBs) and IFSC Insurance Offices (IIOs), encourage more reinsurers to set up business in India and to enhance ease of doing business. CHAPTER - I AMENDMENT TO THE INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF INDIA (RE -INSURANCE) REGULATIONS, 2018 3. In Regulation 1, sub -regulation (3), shall be substituted namely: - These Re gulations shall be applicable to Insurers as defined under Section2 (9) of the Act, and exempted insurers as envisaged under Section118(c) of the Act. 4. In Regulation 1, after sub -regulation (3), following sub regulation shall be inserted, namely: “(4) These Regulations shall be reviewed once every three years from the date of notification of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re -insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 unless a review, repeal or amendment is warranted earlier.” 5. In R egulation 2, in sub clause (A) of clause (4), the words ‘‘other than IIOs” shall be substituted with words “other than FRBs”. 6. In Regulation 2, in sub clause (B) of clause (4), the words “ and International Financial Service Centre Insurance Offices (IIOs)” shall be omitted. 7. In Regulation 2, clause (14) shall be substituted, namely: - “14. ‘Indian Insurer’, for the purpose of th ese regulations, means an ‘insurer’ as defined under section 2(9) of the Act, which has been granted certificate of registration by th e Authority, and shall also include Exempted Insurers.” 8. In Regulation 2, clause (17) shall be substituted, namely: - “17. International Financial Services Centres Authority, also referred to by the acronym IFSCA, means the International Financial Services Centres Authority established under sub -section (1) of Section 4 of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019. 9. In Regulation 2, after clause (17), the following clause shall be inserted, namely: - “17A. ‘International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Insurance Office’, hereinafter called by acronym ‘IIO’, shall have the same meaning as assigned to it under IFSCA (Registration of Insurance Business) Regulations, 2021.” 10. In Regulation 2, clause (21) s hall be substituted, namely: - “21. ‘Retrocession' means a re -insurance transaction whereby a part of assumed reinsured risk is further ceded to another Indian Insurer or an IIO or a CBR.” 11. In Regulation 2, after clause (22) the following shall be inser ted, namely: 23. ‘Domestic Tariff Area’ also denoted by the acronym ‘DTA’ shall have the same meaning assigned to it under sub-section (i) of section 2 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005. 12. In Regulation 2, the existing clause (23) shall be re -numbered as clause (24). 13. In Regulat ion 3, clause (C) of sub -regulation (2) shall be substituted, namely: - “C. Every Indian Re -insurer including Foreign Re -insurance Branches (FRBs) shall maintain a minimum retention within India of 50% of Indian re -insurance business underwritten. Any retro cession to an IIO up to 20% of Indian re -insurance business underwritten shall be reckoned towards the required minimum retention of 50%.” 14. In Regulation 3, sub Clause (b) of clause (A) of sub -regulation (3) shall be substituted, namely: - “b. submit to the Authority, its proposed Re -insurance programme, for the forthcoming financial year in the specified summary format, at least 45 days before the commencement of the financial year” 15. In Regulation 3, in sub clause (c) of clause (A) of sub -regulation 3, for w ords and figures; ‘within 30 days of the commencement of the financial year ’, the words and figures ‘within 45 days of the commencement of the financial year’ shall be substituted. 16. In Regulation 3, serial no. (i) of sub clause (c) of clause (A) of sub -regulation (3) shall be substituted, namely: - “i. its Board approved Final Re -insurance Programme specifically highlighting improvements in net retention per insurance segment together with the variation, if any, from the Re -insurance Programme of the prec eding year as well as from the proposed Re -insurance Programme submitted under sub clause (b) of clause (A) of sub Regulation (3) of Regulation 3 .” 17. In Regulation 3, after sub clause ( d) of clause (A) of sub -regulation (3), following sub clause shall be inserted, namely: - “e. submit to the Authority, within 90 days of the commencement of financial year, a certification from the CEO confirming that all Treaties associated with the Re -insurance Programme for the financial year have been received in original, duly stamped and signed (or digitally signed), from all parties to the treaty.” 18. In Regulation 3, clause (D) of sub -regulation (3) shall be substituted, namely :- “D. In addition to the requirements as per regulation 3(3)(C) above, every Indian Reinsurer an d FRB writing re -insurance business, shall file the Board approved underwriting policy. Any subsequent change, in the underwriting policy, shall be duly approved by the Board and filed with the Authority within 15 days of Board’s approval.” 19. In Regulation 3 , after clause (D) of sub -regulation (3), following clause shall be inserted, namely: - “E. Every Indian insurer shall submit soft copies of list of Re -insurers w ith their credit rating, their shares in the proportional and non -proportional Re -insurance arr angements along with final Re -insurance programme.” 20. In Regulation 3, sub -regulation (5) shall be substituted, namely: - “5. Maintenance of Records The record of l ist of Re -insurers with their credit rating, their shares in the proportional and non -proportio nal Re - insurance arrangements, each and every re -insurance contract shall be maintained by every Indian insurer for the period specified in the relevant extant r egulations and shall be made available to the Authority for inspection.” 21. In Regulation 4, unde r sub -regulation (2), the following shall be inserted, namely: “Reinsurance placements with any International Pool or Risk sharing arrangement having CBRs as m embers, participants or administrators shall also require prior approval of the Authority.” 22. In Re gulation 4, after sub -regulation (3), following sub regulation shall be inserted, namely: - “4. To maximize retention in India and to increase domestic capacity, the Authority may undertake review of the business underwritten, claims experience and lines of support given by a CBR, and based on the review, the Authority may stipulate such conditio ns as may be considered necessary to achieve the stated objectives.” 23. In Regulation 5, sub -regulation (1) shall be substituted, namely: - “1. Seeking lead re -insurance support: Every Cedant shall abide by the following provisions whilst seeking best re -insurance terms: A. Every Cedant shall firstly seek lead terms (other than emanating from obligatory cession) from all Indian Re -insurers which have been without interruptio n transacting re -insurance business during immediate previous complete three financial y ears and at least 4 other “Category 2” (as per clause (b) of sub -regulation (2)(A) of Regulation 5) reinsurers. B. No Cedant shall seek lead terms from CBRs/IIOs having cr edit rating below ‘A -‘from Standard & Poor’s or an equivalent credit rating from any ot her International Rating Agency. Provided that such requirement of minimum credit rating shall not be applicable if an IIO is a subsidiary/ branch of an Indian insurer . C. Except for facultative re -insurance protection, no cedant shall seek terms from any Indian Insurer, which is not registered with the Authority exclusively to transact re -insurance business or from an IIO which is not permitted to undertake re -insurance business b y IFSCA . D. The cedant shall be responsible and accountable to comply with these regulations, irrespective of whether the terms are obtained directly or through any Re -insurance Broker. Explanation : A cedant may not seek terms from a Reinsurer o r an IIO which is a group/associate company of other Indian Insurer.” 24. In Regulation 5, Clause (A) sub -regulation (2) shall be substituted, namely: - “A. Every cedant shall secure maximum participation by ‘Categ ory 1’ and ‘Category 2’ reinsurers in order to maximise retention within Indian market while fulfilling the minimum necessary placement with the lead reinsurers quoting the best terms (other than emanating from obligatory cession). Every cedant shall abide by the following Order of Preference whilst se eking placement: a) Category 1: Indian Reinsurers b) Category 2: IIOs (which invest 100 % of retained premiums, emanating from insurers in India, in the DTA) and FRBs. c) Category 3: Other IIOs; d) Category 4: Other I ndian Insurers (only in respect of per -risk fac ultative placements in the insurance segment for which the Insurer is registered to transact business) and CBRs. Explanation 1: Except for facultative re -insurance protection, no cedant shall seek participati on from any Indian Insurer, which is not regist ered with the Authority exclusively to transact re -insurance business and an IIO, which is not permitted to undertake re -insurance business by IFSCA. Further such Indian Insurer and IIO shall not be offered to lead on any reinsurance protection. Explanati on 2: A cedant may opt not to offer participation to FRB or an IIO who declined to quote or did not quote the terms. Explanation 3: A cedant may not offer for participation to an Indian Reinsurer, FRB or a n IIO which is a group/associate company of oth er Indian Insurer. 25. In Regulation 6, after sub -regulation (2) a proviso shall be inserted namely: - “Provided that the cession limits as above shall not be applicable to cedants which place total reinsurance premiums outside India up to rupees seventy -five crore during a financial year and the placements are with CBRs having a rating of BBB+ and above.” 26. In Regula tion 12, after clause C in sub -regulation (2), the following clauses shall be inserted namely: - “D. exposure limits of a CBR, with all cedants take n together; E. framework for domestic and international Insurance Pools.” 27. After Regulation 12, a ne w regulation 13 shall be inserted namely: 13. Transition Provision All reinsurance placements under any arrangements/ treaties for financial year 202 3-24 entered into by insurers prior to the date of notification of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re -insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 shall continue for the remaining period of the year as per the terms therein. Insure rs shall ensure that any new treaties/ arrangements entered into on or after the date of notification of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Re -insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 shall be compliant with provisions of these regula tions. CHAPTER - II AMENDMENT TO THE INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF INDIA (REGISTRAT ION AND OPERATIONS OF BRANCH OFFICES OF FOREIGN REINSURERS OTHER THAN LLOYD’S) REGULATIONS, 2015. 28. After Regulation 4, the following explanation s hall be inserted, namely: - “Explanation: Any retrocession to IIO up to 20% of Indian re -insurance business underwritten shall be reckoned towards the required minimum retention of 50%.” 29. In Regulation 5, sub -regulation (g) shall be substituted, namely: - “(g) The applicant shall infuse a minimum assigned capital of Rupees Fifty crore into the branch office” 30. In Regulation 11, clause (a) of sub -regulation (2) shall be substituted, namely: - “(a) Documentary proof of evidence of having Rupees Fifty crore or more assigned capital” 31. In Regulation 18, clause (a) of sub -regulation (2) shall be substituted, na mely: - “(a)Ten lakh rupees, or” CHAPTER - III AMENDMENT TO THE INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF INDIA (LLOYD’S INDIA) REGULATIONS, 2 016. 32. After Regulation 8, the following explanation shall be inserted, namely: “Explanation: Any retrocession to an IIO up to 20% of Indian re -insurance business underwritten shall be reckoned towards the required minimum retention of 50%.” 33. In Regu lation 37, clau se (a) of sub -regulation (2) shall be substituted, namely: - “(a)Ten lakh rupees, or” 34. In sub -regulation (4) of Regulation 50 , the word “investment” shall be omitted. DEBASISH PANDA, Chairperson [ADVT. -III/4/Exty./ 371/2023 -24] Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri , New Delhi -110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi -110054.

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