Orientation Programme for Insurance Ombudsmen
May 21, 2026
With a view to strengthening the effectiveness of the Insurance Ombudsman mechanism and aligning it with the evolving expectations of the Authority and the rapidly changing insurance landscape, the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen (CIO), under the guidance of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), is conducting an “Orientation Programme for Insurance Ombudsmen” from 20th May to 23rd May, 2026 at IRDAI Headquarters, Hyderabad. The programme brings together all Insurance Ombudsmen across the country and is aimed at enhancing institutional capacity, promoting greater consistency in grievance redressal practices and facilitating exchange of perspectives on emerging issues in the insurance sector.
During the programme, Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India, addressed the participants and senior officers of the Authority through video conference. He emphasised the importance of approaching every grievance with empathy and a strong policyholder-centric perspective. He underscored the need for continuous capacity building and adoption of best practices supported by appropriate policies, digital tools and technology-driven processes. He also appreciated the efforts of the DFS and IRDAI teams in ensuring timely resolution of complaints and appeals on the CPGRAMS platform.
Shri Ajay Seth, Chairman, IRDAI, while addressing the Insurance Ombudsmen and senior officers of the Authority, highlighted that the Institution of Insurance Ombudsman promises to provide free, speedy and accessible grievance redressal to policyholders. He urged the participants to utilise such orientation programmes to identify operational challenges, share experiences and evolve practical solutions for improving the overall effectiveness of the grievance redressal framework. He noted that strengthening customer trust is central to achieving higher insurance penetration and realising the vision of inclusive insurance coverage. He further emphasised the need to address recurring instances of mis-selling, enhance public awareness regarding grievance redressal mechanisms and improve the efficiency of insurance intermediation. He also highlighted key areas requiring focused attention, including complaints pending beyond 90 days, delays in registration of complaints, nonentertainable complaints and the need to increase the number of hearings conducted through video conferencing. He called upon all stakeholders to work in a coordinated manner towards making the Insurance Ombudsman system more robust, responsive, technology-enabled and policyholder-centric.
During 2025-26, 41,055 grievances were decided by Insurance Ombudsmen. Of which, 79% were decided in favour of policyholders.
Digital Accessibility Audit of IRDAI websites
May 18, 2026
With reference to GeM Bid No. GEM/2026/B/7514926 dated 07.05.2026 issued by IRDAI for conducting the Digital Accessibility Audit of three websites, the following changes/clarification are issued.
1. It is hereby clarified that all auditors/agencies empanelled by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, and listed on the official DEPwD website under “List of Empanelled Web Accessibility Auditors”, as on 07.05.2026 shall be eligible to participate in the aforesaid bid.
2. A Pre-Bid Meeting would be held online on 22.05.2026 to answer the queries of the bidders. However, the bidders are required to send their list of queries latest by 20.05.2026 to address the same.
All other terms & conditions of the RFQ Document remain unchanged.
Obligatory Cession for the financial year 2026-27
April 17, 2026
F. No. IRDAI/RI/ 3/217/2026.—In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (2) and (4) of the Section 101A of the Insurance Act, 1938, the Authority, after consultation with the Advisory Committee, constituted under section 101B of the Insurance Act, 1938 and with the previous approval of the Central Government, hereby makes the following notification namely:- “Obligatory Cession for the financial year 2026-27”.
1. Applicability: This notification shall be applicable to Indian Re-insurers and other applicable insurers as per the provisions of Section 101A of the Insurance Act, 1938.
2. Percentage of Cession: The percentage cession of the sum insured on each General Insurance Policy to be reinsured with the Indian Re-insurer(s) shall be 4% (four percent) in respect of insurance attaching during the financial year beginning from 1st April, 2026 to 31st March, 2027, except the terrorism premium and premium ceded to Nuclear pool wherein it would be made ‘NIL’. The entire Obligatory Cession is to be placed with General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) only.
Terms & Conditions:
a) Notice of information on cession:
i) There would be no limit on sum insured applicable for the cessions made during the period from 1st April, 2026 to 31st March, 2027.
ii) In view of the above, the Indian Re-insurer may require the ceding insurer to give immediate notice of underwriting information of any cession exceeding an amount as specified by the former. The ceding insurer shall inform the Indian Re-insurer at all times whenever the cession exceeds such specified limits.
b) Commission:
Percentage of commission on obligatory cession for different classes of business shall be as follows:
i) Minimum 5% for Motor TP and Oil & Energy insurance.
ii) Minimum 10% for Group Health insurance.
iii) Minimum 7.50% for Crop Insurance.
iv) Average Terms for Aviation insurance.
v) Minimum 15% for all other classes of insurance business.
Commission over and above, can be as mutually agreed between Indian Re-insurer(s) and the ceding insurer.
c) Profit Commission:
The Indian Re-insurer shall share the profit commission, on 50:50 basis, with the ceding insurer based on the performance and surplus of the total obligatory portfolio of the ceding insurer, after factoring the following:
i) Incurred loss % (to be worked at the end of 3 financial years).
ii) Management Expenses at 2%.
iii) Profit at 5%.
iv) Commission at 12.5%.
