Effective April 1, 2024, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has mandated that all new insurance policies should be issued in electronic form.
Similar to how one holds shares in a demat account, all new insurance policies can now be accessed digitally and must now be issued in electronic form, with physical copies sent only upon request. Policyholders now need to open an e-Insurance Account (eIA) to store and access these insurance policies digitally.
Understanding eIA or Electronic Insurance Account
Policyholders are required to open an e-Insurance Account (eIA) to store and access their insurance policies issued in electronic or digital form. “e-insurance policy” or “electronic insurance policy” shall mean a digitally signed policy document evidencing the insurance contract issued to the policyholder by an insurer in an electronic form.
Benefits for Policyholders
The transition to e-insurance eliminates the need for cumbersome paperwork and provides a one-stop platform for viewing, downloading, and managing all policies in one single window.
Further, it reduces the risk of document loss and simplifies the process of updating details such as contact details, and address details across multiple policies.
It eases the settlement of claims as an effective communication channel between insurers and policyholders and thus enhances the overall user experience.
Though new policies are issued in digital format, many policy holders are looking to convert their existing physical policies into electronic format.
The process is as follows
Converting Existing Policies to e-Insurance
Converting all kinds of existing policies to e-insurance is free of cost for policyholders. The first step is to open an eIA where you can hold the digital policies
Open an eIA
Download and fill the eIA form from any of the four insurance repositories, namely, CAMS, Karvy, NSDL Database Management (NDML), or the Central Insurance Repository of India.
Submit the form along with Know Your Customer (KYC) documents for verification. These documents include a recent passport-size photograph, PAN card, Date of birth proof, Identity proof and Address proof. For instance, at NDSL, you may fill online e-Insurance Account Opening Form at - nironline.ndml.in/NIR/onlineEiaApplicationHome.html.
The form needs to be submitted along with KYC documents to an approved person or insurance company branch office or can be couriered to the insurance repository. After verification of the documents, the eIA can get operational within seven days of application. The depository will open eIA and communicate your e-Insurance Account number, login ID and process to set your password.
Fill Conversion Form
Once the e-Insurance Account is created, fill out a separate Policy Conversion Form for insurance policies of different companies. Policyholders have to provide details such as the policyholder’s name, policy number, e-insurance account number, and company name in this form.
Submit The Form
Submit the completed conversion form separately or along with the eIA opening form to the nearest approved person or insurance branch office. For NDSL the nearest Approved Person can be located at - nir.ndml.in/ap-details.htm.
Upon successful completion of conversion, policyholders receive confirmation via SMS and email. the physical policy certificate becomes invalid once the conversion is completed.
