A Corporate Agent that has been granted registration under the IRDAI (Registration of Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2015 is eligible to solicit, procure, and service insurance business, including life, general, and health insurance, during the validity of its certificate of registration.
In order to sell the insurance products of any insurer, the Corporate Agent is required to enter into a tie-up arrangement with such insurer, and there is a prescribed limit on the number of such tie-ups.
However, the role of a Corporate Agent is not limited to the pre-sale stage of offering insurance products to prospective policyholders. Regulation 26, read with Schedule III, also prescribes post-sale responsibilities for a Corporate Agent. The Regulation seeks to ensure that the role of the Corporate Agent is not confined merely to selling insurance products, but extends to continuing to act honestly, transparently, and responsibly, and in the best interests of the policyholder even after the sale of the policy, by providing necessary assistance, ensuring timely communication, facilitating claim settlement, and maintaining an effective grievance redressal mechanism.
Post Sales Code of Conduct
IRDAI (Registration of Corporate Agent) Regulation 20215 has prescribed the following post sales code of conduct for a Corporate Agent:
- advise every individual policyholder to effect nomination or assignment or change of address or exercise of options, as the case may be, and offer necessary assistance in this behalf, wherever necessary;
- with a view to conserve the insurance business already procured through him, make every attempt to ensure remittance of the premiums by the policyholders within the stipulated time, by giving notice to the policyholder orally and in writing;
- ensure that its client is aware of the expiry date of the insurance even if it chooses not to offer further cover to the client;
- ensure that renewal notices contain a warning about the duty of disclosure including the necessity to advise changes affecting the policy, which have occurred since the policy inception or the last renewal date;
- ensure that renewal notices contain a requirement for keeping a record (including copies of letters) of all information supplied to the insurer for the purpose of renewal of the contract;
- ensure that the client receives the insurer's renewal invitation well in time before the expiry date;
- render necessary assistance to the policyholders or claimants or beneficiaries in complying with the requirements for settlement of claims by the insurer;
- explain to its clients their obligation to notify claims promptly and to disclose all material facts and advise subsequent developments as soon as possible;
- Advise the client to make true, fair and complete disclosure where it believes that the client has not done so. If further disclosure is not forthcoming it shall consider declining to act further for the client;
- give prompt advice to the client of any requirements concerning the claim;
- forward any information received from the client regarding a claim or an incident that may give rise to a claim without delay, and in any event within three working days;
- advise the client without delay of the insurer's decision or otherwise of a claim; and give all reasonable assistance to the client in pursuing his claim;
- shall not demand or receive a share of proceeds from the beneficiary under an insurance contract;
- ensure that letters of instruction, policies and renewal documents contain details of complaints handling procedures;
- accept complaints either by phone or in writing;
- acknowledge a complaint within fourteen days from the receipt of correspondence, advise the member of staff who will be dealing with the complaint and the timetable for dealing with it;
- ensure that response letters are sent and inform the complainant of what he may do if he is unhappy with the response;
- ensure that complaints are dealt with at a suitably senior level;
- Have in place a system for recording and monitoring complaints.
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