LICENSING OF CORPORATE AGENTS :

The IRDA (Licensing of Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2002 provides the licensing framework for Corporate Agents similar to the Regulations applicable to Individual Agents. The Corporate Agents regulations recognize agents who are one of the following entities (as against individual agents who are licensed under the IRDA (Licensing of Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2002):

(a) Firm

(b) Company under the Companies Act, 1956

(c) Banking company

(d) Co-operative society

(e) Panchayat or local authority

(f) Non-Government organisation

The licence is issued to the entity as against the individual under licensing of individual agents. However, the persons who are authorised to sell on behalf of a Corporate Agent will have to undergo the training and examination requirements similar to that of an Individual agent. The Corporate agent shall have the following persons at the minimum as per the Regulations:

(a) Corporate Insurance Executive (‘CIE’)

(b) Specified Persons (‘SP’)

A Corporate Insurance Executive is the Director or Partner or one or more of its officers or employees so designated by it (where the applicant is a Company or a Firm). Where the applicant is any other person, the Chief Executive or one or more of his employees designated by him shall be the CIE. In either case, the CIE shall possess the minimum qualifications, undergo the practical training and pass the required examination.

A Specified Person is responsible for soliciting or procuring insurance business on behalf of the Corporate Agent entity. He may be a Director or a Partner or one or more of its officers or other employees so designated by the Corporate Agent. The individual desirous of acting as a Specified Person shall also possess the requisite qualifications, undergo the practical training and pass the examination. A Certificate is issued to a Specified Person which authorises him to solicit or procure insurance business on behalf of the Corporate Agent. There may be as many number of Specified Persons as the Corporate Agent requires depending upon the business requirements.

The minimum qualifications, practical training and examination requirements are similar to that of an individual agent. A Corporate Agent is also allowed to act for only one life insurer (Direct-Life) or one general insurer (Direct-Non-Life) or Composite Corporate Agent (one Life and one General at a time)

As per the IRDA guidelines on Corporate Agents, dated 14 July 2005, two types of Corporate Agents are recognized:

(a) Exclusive Corporate Agents – i.e. those entities whose primary activity is solicitation or procuration of insurance business. Such entities shall be Public Limited companies under the Companies Act, 1956, with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.15 lakhs deposited in a Scheduled Commercial Bank. Further entities belonging to Banking or Insurance Groups alone are allowed to form Exclusive Corporate Agencies

(b) Non-exclusive Corporate Agents – entities which are already engaged in some other business and would like to take up insurance agency as a subsidiary activity.

Further a Group to which the applicant Corporate Agent belongs to, can be granted only one corporate agency licence. In other words, any proposal from an applicant, some of whose group entities are already engaged in insurance business, such as corporate agent, broker, insurer etc., shall not be normally granted a corporate agency licence. IRDA does not normally grant any exception unless the entities are licensed by Reserve Bank of India with substantial client base or otherwise have assets, turnover or networth of Rs.15 Crores.