The Supreme Court has directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to provide data on the number of life insurance policies issued to persons with autism, cerebral palsy and Asperger’s syndrome. A Bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan issued the direction on September 23, 2026, while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the NGO Action for Autism. The Court’s direction seeks information from both public-sector and private-sector insurance companies on the actual number of policies issued to people with these conditions.
The direction came after IRDAI informed the Court that it had already issued two circulars concerning insurance for persons with autism and had placed them on record. The Court, however, sought to establish whether these regulatory measures had translated into actual life insurance coverage. IRDAI has been asked to obtain instructions and place the requested data on record by the next date of hearing.
The PIL, filed in 2025, seeks broader systemic measures to protect the rights of persons with neurodivergent conditions, including autism, dyslexia and ADHD, with concerns extending across healthcare, education, employment, financial services and insurance. The proceedings therefore bring attention to an important insurance-access question: whether regulatory provisions intended to facilitate coverage are resulting in actual policy issuance and meaningful access to life insurance for neurodivergent persons.
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