The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India issues draft regulations for registration and operations of branch offices of foreign reinsurers (excluding Lloyd’s)

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015 permitted foreign reinsurers to set up branch offices in India. In order to give effect to this amendment, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) on 7 April 2015, issued the IRDA [Branch Offices of Foreign Reinsurers (excluding Lloyd’s)] Regulations, 2015 (Regulations).

The Regulations, which are in a draft state, have been placed on the website of the IRDA for public comments (to be provided in the prescribed format until 30 April 2015).

The Regulations outline the procedure for seeking registration from the IRDA in a two staged process, and lay out the operational guidelines with respect to conduct of business by the branch office of the foreign reinsurers (excluding Lloyd’s) in India.

This alert summarizes the key features of the Regulations issued by the IRDA