IRDA Insurance Marketing FIRM

• Free Expert Guidance
• Complete Online Process
• Easy EMI options available

IRDA Insurance Marketing Firm

The IRDA has allowed for the registration of insurance marketing firms so that entrepreneurs and insurance agents can start their own insurance distribution company. As per the Registration of Insurance Marketing Firm Regulations, 2015, an “Insurance Marketing Firm” is defined as an entity registered by the IRDA to solicit or procure insurance products, to undertake insurance service activities and to distribute other financial products.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) through the IRDA Registration of Insurance Marketing Firm Act 2015 has introduced the concept of “Insurance Marketing Firm” in India. Insurance Marketing Firms are an entity registered in India that are allowed to solicit or procure insurance products, to undertake insurance services and to distribute other financial products. With the Government of India raising the FDI in insurance, the insurance industry is set to witness robust growth in the coming years and there exists tremendous potential for those starting an insurance marketing firm. In this article, we look at the procedure for starting an insurance marketing firm in India.

Activities of an IRDA Insurance Marketing Firm

• Solicitor procures insurance products of two Life, two General and two Health Insurance companies at any point in time. In respect of general insurance, the Insurance Marketing Firm would be allowed to solicit or procure only retail lines of insurance products as given in the file & use guidelines namely motor, health, personal accident, householders, shopkeepers and such other insurance products approved by the IRDA from time to time.
• Undertake back-office activities of insurers as allowed in the Guidelines on Outsourcing Activities by Insurance Companies issued by the IRDA;
• Become an approved person of Insurance Repositories;
• Undertake survey and loss assessment work by employing on their rolls licensed surveyor & loss assessors;
• Perform any other insurance-related activity permitted by the IRDA from time to time.
• Mutual funds of mutual fund companies regulated by SEBI;
• Pension products regulated by PFRDA;
• Other financial products distributed by SEBI licensed Investment Advisors;
• Banking/ financial products of banks/ NBFC regulated by RBI;
• Non-insurance products offered by Department of Posts, Government of India;
• Any other financial product or activity permitted by the IRDA from time to time.

To obtain IRDA registration for an Insurance Marketing Firm, the following eligibility criteria must be fulfilled:

• A private limited company
• A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
• Co-operative Societies registered under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912
• The IRDA recognizes any other person to act as an Insurance Marketing Firm.

Note: Since the act doesn’t expressly mention Partnership Firm or Proprietorship, it is best to start a private limited company or LLP.

• Companies Act, 2013 defines net worth as “the aggregate value of the paid-up share capital and all reserves created out of the profits and securities premium account, after deducting the aggregate value of the accumulated losses, deferred expenditure and miscellaneous expenditure not written off, as per the audited balance sheet, but does not include reserves created out of revaluation of assets, write-back of depreciation and amalgamation”.
• Due care must be taken to ensure the word “Insurance Marketing Firm” is a part of the name of the entity.
• Be an Associate/Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai; or
• Be an Associate/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India; or
• Bean Associate/Fellow of Chartered Insurance Institute, London; or
• Be a Postgraduate qualification of the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management, Hyderabad; or
• Be a Graduate with Insurance experience of five years preceding the year in which the application is made; or
• Be a Graduate with 10 years of experience in the financial services sector preceding the year in which the application is made.
• The Principal Officer shall undergo Fifty Hours of Insurance Marketing Firm training from an institution recognised by the Authority, and should pass an examination, at the end of the period of training, conducted by the Examination Body recognised by the Authority.
• Financial integrity;
• Absence of convictions or civil liabilities;
• Competence;
• Good reputation and character;
• Efficiency and honesty; and
• Absence of any disqualification to act as an intermediary as stipulated in the Act, as amended from time to time.

Upon satisfying the above eligibility criteria, the applicant can make an application to the IRDA in the given format for registration as an Insurance Marketing Firm. The applicant would provide registration as “Insurance Marketing Firm” if the IRDA satisfies with the application. The registration for Insurance Marketing Firm issued by the IRDA would be valid for a period of three years from the date of its issue.

FAQ

New Business Registration within 7 working days without visiting Government Departments. Hassle Free Company Incorporation + Free Consultancy on GST, Income Tax, ROC & Accounting. Best Rates (all inclusive), Quality and Trusted Service is guaranteed.

A Private Limited Company is the most popular type of corporate entity in India. It is registered as per the compliance and regulatory guidelines of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. In this article, we will be going over the entire process of registering a Pvt. Ltd. Company in India, step-by-step and explaining the compliance measures one at a time.

Obtaining all these documents is really a challenge, so seek the help of professionals.

• We help you register your directors with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)
• We draft and file the documents required for your company registration (MoA and AoA)

No, new company registration is a fully online process. As all documents are filed electronically, you would not need to be physically present at all. You would need to send us scanned copies of all the required documents & forms.

The payment of remuneration and/ or reward to an Insurance Marketing Firm by an insurer is as per Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Payment of commission or remuneration or reward to insurance agents and insurance intermediaries) Regulations, 2016 (as amended from time to time).

In addition, the Insurance Marketing Firm may receive reimbursement of expenses from Life insurers towards recruitment, training and mentoring of their ISPs. This reimbursement shall not exceed 50% of first year commission and 10% of renewal commission received by the IMF in case of Life insurers.

Any change in the engagement with the insurers shall be governed by the terms of the agreement entered into between the Insurance Marketing Firm and the insurer, with suitable arrangements for servicing existing policyholders by the concerned insurer, in case of cancellation/termination/discontinuity of agreement.

No Objection Certificate (NOC) is a certificate issued to an IMF applicant by the Authority on request. The NOC is issued for the sole purpose of enabling the IMF applicant to apply for incorporation of the proposed IMF Firm Name (which must necessarily include the words “Insurance Marketing / IMF”) with Registrar of Companies (ROC). The NOC is valid up to six months from the date of issue.

• Go to "New User? Register Now!" on the home page of the IMF portal and click on "Do You Need NOC? Click Here".
• Fill in the relevant details, i.e., Name of the Proposed Company * o Address of the Proposed Registered Office Address of Correspondence Email Details and Jurisdiction of ROC PAN
• Name of the Proposed Company * o Address of the Proposed Registered Office
• Address of Correspondence
• Email
• Details and Jurisdiction of ROC
• PAN
• Upload the relevant documents, i.e., o Scanned copy of PAN card of proposed directors/partners o Scanned copy of Aadhaar of proposed directors/partners o Scanned copy of Address Proof of the given Address of Correspondence ? Click on ‘Submit’.
• must include the word(s) “IMF / Insurance Marketing” o must specify if it is Pvt. Ltd., OPC, LLP, etc.
• must not be similar to that of any Insurer Broker
• must not be an undesirable name as defined in Companies(Incorporation) Rules.
• Go to "New User? Register Now!" on the home page of the IMF portal and click on "Check NOC Status? Click Here”.
• Key in the NOC application reference number and the PAN number given in the application and click on “Submit”.

The applicant shall register on the IMF portal and submit application for IMF registration within one year of incorporation of the company with ROC by following the procedure below:

• Go to "New User? Register Now!" on the home page of the IMF portal
• Fill in the relevant details in the ‘New User Registration’ page, i.e, Firm Name, Firm

Registration Number (CIN, LLPIN, etc), PAN (Firm’s or Director’s), Email, Mobile Number

• Select the ‘Area of Operation’ and Click on ‘Register’.
• Go to “Registered User? Click Here!” on the home page and login using the User ID and password received on the registered email ID.
• Complete the Form A by filling in all the relevant fields and uploading the relevant documents
• The applicant has to o Remit the non-refundable application fees of five thousand rupees. The payment must come from the bank account of the IMF.