IRDA pulls up life insurers for not highlighting projected rate of return

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority ( IRDA) has pulled up life insurers for not highlighting the projected rate of return in their traditional product benefit illustrations.

It is mandatory for insurers to provide policyholders customised benefit illustrations that project their corpus at various stages assuming gross investment returns of 4% and 8%.

“It is observed that some of the advertisements containing illustrations being released in the market are not in tune with the (regulations’) spirit,” IRDA said in a circular.

The regulator said that because of this lapse prospective policyholders are unable to get a clear picture of the possible returns they stand to earn. IRDA directed insurers to follow the guidelines and incorporate scenarios taking investment returns of 4% and 8% into account in benefit illustrations in all advertisements “with equal prominence in font size, at the same place and in the same page”.

The directive will come into effect from December 1.