Broker License for Insurance Broking Company

As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2018, an insurance broker is referred to a business entity who implements their knowledge about the insurance industry to act as an intermediary between those who are seeking insurance policies and those who are selling it.

However, in order to become an insurance broker, one needs to obtain an Insurance Broker license.

Insurance Broker license is the authorized issued by the Insurance Regulatory and development authority of India that has formulated laws for any entity looking for becoming an insurance broker in India. The applicant entity becomes bound by those rules once it obtains the broker license for insurance solicitation and procurement.

 

Types of Insurance Brokers in the Indian Insurance Sector

To become a licensed insurance agent or an insurance broker, you need to know about the types of insurance brokers that are present. Categorically, one can split them into three types:

Type 1 : Direct Insurance Broker

Direct insurance brokers are those who act as an intermediary between reinsurers and the customers after getting an insurance broker license. They help the clients in risk management, claim consultancy, get insurance coverage, for remuneration or fees. Also it provides insurance advisory services as they have detailed and updated knowledge of the market.

For getting e-insurance policies and claims they help their clients. Other than this, they get the information of the client's business and share it to the insurer. Help the client to choose the best policy, tell them different quotations, open their e-payment account and complete the e-insurance policies of the clients. The direct brokers work on the behalf of clients to provide insurance services.

Direct Broker (life): Life Insurance Brokers are the most sought after among the brokers in India. They provide insurance and risk management services to clients that are seeking life insurance policies in India.

Direct Broker (general): General life insurance broker license is issued to a property insurance broker. Licenses for auto insurance and health insurance are issued in this regard.

Direct Broker (Life & general): This insurance broker certificate is issued to those that engage with both life and general insurance policies.

Type 2 : Reinsurance Broker

Reinsurance brokers are those entities that after getting the IRDA broker registration, act as an intermediary between reinsurers and insurers. They have knowledge of the insurance industry and they maintain a database of the reinsurance market. Also, they advise the insurance company about the international and reinsurance markets.

They communicate records of insurance companies to the reinsurance company. Their services include risk management, negotiating on behalf of reinsurers, collecting and remitting premiums. Along with this, they employed a qualified broker person to solicit insurance policies. 

To enhance the market capacity of the insurers they select reinsurance companies and assist insurers with claim settlement. The reinsurance brokers comply with the laws and regulations of the regions.

Type 3 : Composite Insurance Broker

Composite Brokers, as the name subject is an amalgamation of direct and reinsurance brokers. They provide direct insurance and reinsurance services in India. To clients they offer advice on right insurance cover and terms and conditions of the policy.

Provide services such as insurance consultancy, risk management, maintaining proper records, and negotiating claims on behalf of clients. These are all the services that are provided by a composite broker.

Eligibility Criteria for Insurance Broker License

There are many requirements to become an insurance broker in India. And one must adhere to every one of them in order to get insurance broker license.

Following are the insurance broker registration requirements to keep in mind before applying for the Insurance broker certificate.

1. Financial Requirements

Following is the paid-up capital contribution required for each type of insurance broker:

1. For direct brokers, the minimum requirement is INR 75 Lakhs
2. For reinsurance brokers, the minimum requirement is INR 4 Crores
3. For composite brokers, the minimum requirement is INR 5 Crores

Net worth requirement

When the applicant is applying for an insurance broker license online, at the time he must adhere to the following net worth requirements:

1. INR 50 Lakh for direct broker
2. In the case of reinsurance and composite brokers, 50 per cent of minimum capital is required.

Deposit requirement

Following are the deposit requirement criteria, which comes to the surface when the applicant has to submit an amount to the scheduled bank for the insurance broker license:

1. In the case of a Direct broker, a 10 lakh rupees deposit is required
2. In the case of reinsurance and composite brokers, 10% of the minimum capital requirement is required.

Once you meet the insurance broker license requirements, you can move ahead with the procedure to acquire the license.

In addition to these requirements, the licensees must be capable of adhering to the different codes of conduct formulated for Insurance brokers by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

2. Corporate Requirements

1. The applicant must be a company incorporated under Companies Act, 2013 or,
2. An LLP registered under Limited Liability partnership Act, or
3. A cooperative society registered under the Co-operative Society Act, 1912

3. Infrastructural Requirements

1. The applicant must have adequate office space to render insurance services
2. The applicant must have adequate manpower that matches up with the insurance policies it provides

4. Qualification requirements

1. The Principal officer of the company must have the necessary Insurance Broker Training.
2. The Principal officer should a Key management personnel of the applicant entity
3. The Insurance Sale Person must also have adequate education

Rules for grant of Insurance Broking License in India

 

Following are the rules associated with the IRDA broking license

1. The certified insurance broker, upon obtaining the Insurance broker certificate, must only solicit insurance services in India;
2. After getting insurance license, the broker must comply to the provisions of IRDA Act, 1999, its regulations and other instructions issued by the authority;
3. If the applicant has provided any information to the IRDA that later turns out to be false, it is up to the broker to clarify that information;
4. The broker must address the grievances of the clients within 14 days;
5. The broker must only procure as many insurance policies as it can provide services for in an efficient manner;
6. Those with the broker license for insurance must maintain a record in the prescribed format in which it will capture the details of all the policies sold;
7. The insurance brokerage license holder must not engage with multi-marketing services at any cost;
8. The Licensed Broker must comply with all the points mentioned in the Code of Conduct;
9. The insurance broker must maintain a book accounts as per the specifications of the IRDA regulations.

 

Thus, to become a broker, an online application of insurance broker registration has to be filed. That application is provided by the IRDA portal. Registrationwala is a team of professional business license consultants. They will hold your hand as you walk through the process of acquiring the insurance broking license.

Documents Required for Broker License 

Insurance Broker Certificate Registration requirements pertaining to the documentation that have to be submitted alongside a duly filled application are listed in the provided table. 

 

Process of getting the Insurance Broker License

Following is the procedure the applicant has to adhere to in order to obtain the license to become an insurance broker.

This insurance broker license process should be accompanied with the precise insurance license cost in India.

Step 1 : Complete the qualifications required for the license.

Step 2 : Filing the application via FORM B. Use it to apply for insurance broker license.

Step 3 : Alongside the form, documents have to be submitted

Step 4 :The IRDA will then intimate the applicant, at which point the applicant has to adhere to the additional requirements.

Step 5 : Submission of insurance broker license cost.

Assessment of the application at the hands of IRDA. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India will conduct a thorough assessment of the application form and the documents. Only after completely being satisfied of the financial and technical eligibility of the applicant, will the Authority issue the insurance broker certification.

Finally, the IRDA bestows upon the applicant, the commercial insurance broker license.

Note: Remember that you are not going to get a separate license for each type of direct insurance broker. For instance, there is no such thing as a car insurance broker license. What you will obtain is the general insurance broker license to solicit in car insurance policies.

After the issuance of the license, the applicant must adhere to all the rules and regulations and the code and conduct of the license.

Code of Conduct – Insurance

 

 

There are 11 types of Codes of Conduct that those with Insurance broker certification must keep in mind upon commencing the business:

1. Code of Conduct relating to client relationship: This code details how the insurance brokers must conduct themselves after landing themselves an insurance client.
2. Code of Conduct related to sales practices: This code details the rules the insurance broker must follow when conducting sales operations within their insurance companies.
3. Code of Conduct related to furnishing information: All insurance brokers must furnish requisite information and keep the IRDA updated.
4. Code of Conduct for explaining the insurance contract: It is essential for all insurance brokers to be as non-ambiguous as possible when explaining the insurance services to the clients.
5. Code of Conduct related to renewal of insurance policies: This code explains how an insurance broker must inform the insured about renewal and other similar details.
6. Code of Conduct related to client claims: This code explains the procedure and the regulations for the broker during the time the client claims the policy.
7. Code of Conduct related to grievances: This code details the regulations brokers have to follow while address customer complaints.
8. Code of Conduct related to documentation: This code details the regulations in regards to the documentation procedure.
9. Code of Conduct related to advertising: This code details the regulations of the insurance broker when advertising their services.
10. Code of Conduct related to receipt remuneration: This code details the regulations associated with the receipt of remuneration by the customers.
11. Code of Conduct related to training: This code details the regulations associated with the training of insurance brokers and insurance sale professionals.

The Insurance broker license validity is up to three years. Afterwards, the applicant must:

1. Apply for the insurance broker license renewal, and
2. Retake the insurance broker license examination.

Our Assistance to obtain Broker License in Insurance

1. We provide end to end assistance for Insurance Broker Registration needs:
2. We file your registration application for Insurance Broker License
3. We submit the application of Insurance Broker Registration
4. We conduct the follow up with the department
5. We provide post license services as well.

Simply put, we guide your hand through each and every step of getting Insurance Broker Certificate in India.

Thus, reach out to us if you want to become an insurance broker in India.

 

FAQs 

Q1. Who licenses the insurance broker?

An Insurance broker is licensed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

Q2. How do I become an insurance broker?

To become an insurance broker, you need to:

1. Establish a company
2. Train your principal officer,
3. And, obtain the Insurance broker license.

Q3. How can I become a Health insurance broker?

To become an health insurance broker, you must obtain the Direct Insurance broker license in India.

Q4. What are the different Insurance brokerage license requirements?

1. The applicant must be a company, LLP or society
2. The applicant entity must have enough space to run the business operations
3. The applicant must involve a principal officer responsible for overseeing the functions of insurance brokerage company.

Q5. What is a principal officer in an Insurance broker company?

The Principal officer of an Insurance broker company is the personnel that understand all the regulatory, technical and market aspects of the insurance broker business.

Q6. Who can become an Insurance broker?

Following entities have the permission of the IRDA to become an Insurance brokers:

1. A company incorporated as per the companies act, 2013
2. An LLP incorporated as per the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
3. A Society incorporated per the Society Act, 1912

Q7. What is the IRDA license renewal fees?

The government of IRDA license renewal is as follows:

1. Direct broker: INR 1 lakh
2. Reinsurance broker: INR 3 Lakh
3. Composite Broker: INR 5 Lakh

It is, in many cases, same as the IRDA license fees.

Q.8 What are the conditions of Insurance broker license renewal?

1. The applicant must have followed the code of conduct pertaining to the insurance broker regulations to the tee.
2. The applicant must not violate any rules mentioned in the IRDA regulations for insurance broker.
3. The applicant must fill out the application for insurance broker license renewal as soon as the expiration of the license.