What is Insurance Repository System (IRS) / e-insurance?

What is insurance repository System-IRS, e-insuranceWhat is Insurance Repository System (IRS) / e-insurance?

Last month, Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) has launched insurance repository system (IRS) which is a kind of e-insurance to help insured individuals. Now you can have all your insurance policies in demat form through this insurance repositories / e-insurance with free of cost. In this article, I would detail about the insurance repository demat account and its positive factors.

What is Insurance repository system (IRS) / e-insurance?

Every person would have several insurance plans such as life assurance, health insurance, home insurance etc. These plans are likewise taken from various public and private insurance companies. Just imagine what happens if you lost the insurance paper documents. What happens if you have changed the address where you need to intimate several insurance companies. To address this problem, IRDA has come up with an e-insurance / insurance depositories where an individual can open a repository account for insurance in the demat form and all his insurance plans information would be stored in it. He/She just need the demat account no. to track all insurance policies pertaining to him/her.

Also read: LIC Bima Bachat – Single premium insurance plan-How good is this?

Who are the authorized agents where you can open insurance repository?

Currently IRDA has approved 5 repository participants where you can open insurance repository / e-insurance account.

  1. NSDL Database management
  2. Central Insurance repository
  3. SHCIL Projects
  4. CAMS Repository services
  5. Karvyy Insurance repositories.

It is immaterial whether you have multiple policies or multiple policies with various insurance companies, you can open only one insurance repository demat account.

Currently life insurance plans and pension plans are allowed to hold in insurance repository demat account / e-insurance account. Soon other insurance plans like health insurance, car insurance, home insurance or home loan insurance would also get included.

Benefits of insurance repository system / e-insurance

  1. Electronic form: You can store all your insurance plans in electronic form (demat form). There is no loss of documentation.
  2. One place: All your insurance plans are stored at one place. You need not worry about multiple insurance companies or offices to track anything.
  3. Accurate info: You can maintain accurate info pertaining to you. If you want to change your address or nominee, you can do this at insurance repository and it would get reflected in all your insurance plans. You need not inform various insurance companies about these changes.
  4. Zero cost: Currently insurance repositories services are being offered at free of cost. No extra burden on you.
  5. Easy process for new policies: When you buy new policies, you can just quote insurance repository demat account and it would be updated in your demat account. Since KYC norms are already taken care, you need not spend time on providing documents or proofs for your new policies.

How does the changes effect in insurance repository or e-insurance account?

There are basically two types of changes a) Account Level b) Insurance plan level

a) Account level: If you want to change address or nominee or any other information at your insurance repository demat account level, you can do that.

b) Insurance plans level: In case you want to make specific modifications for an insurance plan like changing nominee or account specific data for a specific insurance plan, you can inform the same to insurance repository who would get these things done with your insurance companies.

Also read: You should buy max bupa heart beat family floater insurance plan

How to add existing insurance plans at the insurance repository demat account?

You can convert your existing policies to your demat account by making a request for conversion and submit necessary documents to the insurer (insurance company where you have taken insurance plan). This would be one time activity to list all your existing insurance plans in insurance repository account / e-insurance.

Conclusion I am recalling olden days where people used to buy paper shares and used to hold it in their lockers and try to sell after some time. The pain it used to be there has been removed by introduction of demat accounts.  I felt this is a good move by IRDA to have insurance repository account. While we need to see more clarity on how these demat account would operate, but this first step is good to start with.I hope we would benefit with this new Insurance repository system (IRS) as more services may get added going forward.

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Suresh
Insurance repository System (IRS) / e-insurance

Suresh KP

7 comments

  1. Hi Suresh,

    Thanku very much for the great info, Iam having life Insurence policies in LIC, HDFC and also i already having SBI demat account, with this account can i link all my Insurence policies or i need to open seperate demat acc. And aslo please give information regarding procedure for enrolling in e- Insurence.

    Thanku 

    Mubarak Shaik

    1. Hi Shaik, Shares demat account is different from insurance demat account. You need to open insurance demat account with any of the 5 listed ones in article. Once you open and have insurance demat account no, you can approach, LIC and HDFC and give your account no so that they can update their records. Once it is done, it would reflect in your insurance demat account no.

  2. HELLO SURESH JE, I INVEST IN TWO DEBT FUND (1)  BIRLA SL SAVINGS FUND G AND (2)  ICICI PRU FLEXI INCOME FUND G , I WANT TO KNOW THAT ARE THERE ANY RISK IN INVESTMENT IN THIS FUNDS.

    1. Daughn, You should first open account with the depository participants (DP). Once you do that you need to inform your insurance company to add this to your demat account. You need to do this individually for all your insurance policies as one time exercise.

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