Full Form of IRDA

The full form of IRDA is The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. The IRDA was brought into power in 1999 after the Indian Parliament passed the IRDA Act, 1999. It is the role of the IRDA to regulate the insurance industry in India, enable fair competition among industry players, and most importantly it is the role of the IRDA to ensure that no wrong is ever done to any policyholder.

The IRDA is also commonly referred to as IRDAI, ‘I’ stands for India. Both IRDA and IRDAI refer to the same organization.
Now that you know about the full form of IRDA, let us talk about some of the important aspects related to IRDA. They are:

• History of IRDA
• Structure of IRDA
• Functions of IRDA

History of IRDA

• There was a re-privatization of the Insurance sector in the early 1990s.
• The government set up an expert committee headed by RBI governor Mr. R. N. Malhotra. It was the job of this committee to given insurance recommendations.
• The Malhotra Committee recommended the re-entry of foreign insurance companies in the country.
• Further, it recommended a setting up for a central governing body for the regulation of the insurance sector in India. This body was the IRDA.
• IRDA was brought into power in 1999 after passing the IRDA Act, 1999.
• The organization was incorporated in early 2000.

Structure of IRDA

The structure of the IRDA is specified under section 4 of the IRDA Act, 1999. It comprises of:

• Chairman
• 5 full-time members
• 4 part-time members

Functions of IRDA

Functions of IRDA include the following:

• Protect the interests of the policyholders. To ensure that there are no wrongdoings committed towards them.
• Effectively regulate the insurance industry of India.
• Ensure that there is healthy competition among the insurance companies.
• Encourage and promote integrity and honesty across the insurance industry.
• Handle policyholder’s grievances.
• Maintain a register of all operating insurance companies in the country.
• Conduct insurance-related training for industry players.
• Ensure that insurance companies are solvent.
• Keep an eye on the investments of insurance companies.
• Governance of the books of insurance companies