Effective April 1, 2024, it is mandatory to maintain insurance policies in an electronic format, akin to the way investors manage shares through a dematerialized (demat) account. Here’s a breakdown:
E-Insurance involves purchasing insurance policies in a digital format and managing them through an electronic Insurance Account (eIA). This account holds policies for life, health, and general insurance.
Four insurance repositories – CAMS Insurance Repository, Karvy, NSDL Database Management (NDML), and Central Insurance Repository of India – enable individuals to open e-Insurance accounts in India, facilitating convenient management of insurance portfolios digitally.
All insurance policies are eligible to be held in electronic format and they can be accessed through an e-insurance account, which will make it very convenient to manage all insurance policies.
What are the advantages of this transition?
Benefits of e-insurance include:
- Elimination of paperwork, making policy management more convenient.
- Reduced risk of losing important documents compared to physical copies.
- Streamlined updating process through the Electronic Insurance Account (EIA), ensuring details are consistent across all linked policies.
- Easy tracking of policy details and renewal dates for improved management.
How to open an e-Insurance Account
Opening an e-Insurance Account (eIA) is simple. When buying a new insurance policy, inform the insurer of your preference for opening your eIA. They handle the process, needing only your KYC documents.
Alternatively, you can initiate the eIA process through insurance repositories. It’s free, with the insurer covering costs. Unlike managing multiple accounts, you only need one eIA for all policies.
Thanks to IRDAI’s oversight, the risk of duplicate eIAs is eliminated. Once set up, you can consolidate all policies within your eIA, managed by the repository.
