How to Start a Insurance Web Aggregator License

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An Overview of Insurance Web Aggregator License

In India, a Web Aggregator provides information on the various insurance products offered by insurance companies. Insurance Web Aggregators allow buyers to compare different insurance products along with their features and prices. However, these web aggregators must obtain the Insurance Web Aggregator License before commencing any aggregation activity through their website.

The main reason behind introducing Insurance Web Aggregators in India was to educate people and make them aware of the various insurance products. Earlier, people used to consult insurance agents before buying any insurance policies, against which agents used to charge a high commission. Therefore, the IRDAI came up with introducing a transparent, digital and highly regulated platform to minimize the malpractices of charging unnecessary commissions by insurance agents. Insurance Web Aggregators also provide the facility of policy comparison so that customers can make more informed decisions for their insurance needs.

Concept of Insurance Web Aggregator

An Insurance Web Aggregator collects, assembles and maintains the information on different insurance products offered by various insurance companies. All the information collected by the web aggregator is made available on its online portal for easy accessibility by the consumers seeking insurance services. Further, the functions of the Web Aggregator are administered by the regulations enforced by the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India).

The concept of Insurance Web Aggregator is also governed by the provisions of both the Insurance Act and the Companies Act. In India, if a company wants to operate as an Insurance Web Aggregator, it first needs to obtain an Insurance Web Aggregator License from IRDAI.

Laws Relating to Insurance Web Aggregator License

In India, the legal provisions regulating the concept of Insurance Web Aggregator License are as follows:

  • The Insurance Act, 1938;
  • The Insurance Regulatory and Authority of India (Insurance Web Aggregator) Rule, 2017;

Mandatory Guidelines for Insurance Web Aggregators

The guidelines issued by the IRDA for the Insurance Web Aggregators are as follows:

  • The Insurance Web Aggregators are not allowed to promote the services and products offered by any particular insurer;
  • The Insurance Web Aggregators can sell products only on the basis of the Analysis Report;
  • The Insurance Web Aggregator needs to display the pricing of each product;
  • The Insurance Web Aggregator is prohibited from displaying ranking and ratings and highlighting any products as best-selling products.

Role of Insurance Web Aggregators

In India, the role of Insurance Web Aggregators is as follows:

  • To boost and expand the online market for insurance products;
  • To improve and enhance the purchase experience of the customers;
  • To assist the customers throughout the process of the sale.
  • To make the insurance sector more transparent and approachable.

Functions of the Insurance Web Aggregator

The key functions of Insurance Web Aggregators in India can be summarised as follows:

  • Display details about various insurance products on their digital platforms;
  • Provide a facility of comparison between different insurance products on their website;
  • Provides such comparison in an unbiased manner;
  • Transmit any leads received through the digital platform to the respective insurance company;
  • Sell insurance products via Telemarketing services;
  • Solicit insurance products based on the leads received from the website.

Criteria for Insurance Web Aggregator License

In India, an applicant needs to fulfil the following conditions for obtaining an Insurance Web Aggregator License:

  • The applicant company must be registered as a company under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. The term company also includes a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008;
  • A company needs to ensure that its MOA (Memorandum of Association) authorizes the business to undertake the activity of web aggregation of insurance products;
  • A company is not allowed to engage in any other business than the main object;
  • The applicant company must not be appointed as:
  1. Insurance Agent;
  2. Company Agent;
  3. Micro-Insurance Agent;
  4. TPA;
  5. Surveyor and Loss Assessor;
  6. Insurance Marketing Firm, or
  7. Any other insurance intermediary.
  • The applicant company must not have a referral connection with an insurer;
  • The applicant company must have a dedicated platform to perform the activities of an insurance web aggregator;
  • The Principal Officer appointed must possess the qualification and experience prescribed by the IRDAI;
  • The Principal Officer appointed must have obtained the requisite training and passed the examination prescribed by the IRDAI;
  • The director, principal officer, promoter, partner, shareholders, or KMP (key management personnel) must fulfil the fit and proper criteria;
  • The Authorized Verifier must possess the requisite training & experience prescribed by the IRDAI;
  • The Insurance Web Aggregator must not perform any activities prohibited under the IRDAI Regulations;
  • The IRDAI must not have previously rejected the application of the company for Insurance Web Aggregator License Registration;
  • The applicant company must not have withdrawn the application for obtaining an insurance web aggregator license in the previous financial year.

Capital Requirements

Any company that wants to operate as an Insurance Web Aggregator must have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 25 Lakhs. The company can raise this capital by issuing equity shares as per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. However, in a Limited Liability Partnership, the contribution made by the partners must only be in cash. Further, the aggregate shareholdings of the foreign investors in the Insurance Web Aggregator must not exceed the limit of 49% of paid-up equity capital.

Net Worth Requirements for Insurance Web Aggregator License

  • The net-worth of an Insurance Web Aggregator can never fall below 100% of the minimum capital requirements;
  • The net-worth of an Insurance Web Aggregator must be reviewed every half year, i.e., 30th and 31st March. In case of non-compliance, a report for non-compliance must be filed within 15 days. After that, a web aggregator needs to implement restoration measures within thirty days;
  • In case the web aggregator fails to maintain its net worth even after thirty days, it needs to cease all the business activities;
  • A Practising CA issues a duly certified net worth certificate after the finalization of the books of account.

Documents Required for Insurance Web Aggregate License Registration

The documents required for the Insurance Web Aggregate License Registration are:

  • A copy of the COR (Certificate of Registration) issued by the ROC (Registrar of Companies);
  • Copies of MOA (Memorandum of Association) and AOA (Articles of Association) certified by CA;
  • A copy of the LLP Agreement certified by a practising Chartered Accountant;
  • A copy of PAN Card;
  • Resumes or CVs of the designated partners or directors together with the copies of their experience & qualification certificates;
  • Resume of the Principal Officer together with the copies of his/ her experience and qualification certificates;
  • Address proof of the area from where such a website would be hosted. Such an area can be the company's registered office or any other office for operations;
  • List of the individuals who will have the Authority to regulate and post details on the portal about the insurance products, comparisons and guides;
  • A copy of the certificate issued by a practising CA stating the shareholding pattern and net worth of the company;
  • Copies of the audited accounts, balance sheets and annual report for the last three financial years;
  • Business Plan of the company for the next three years;
  • Details of infrastructure, including IT infrastructure;
  • Human Resource Chart displaying the responsibilities and functions of each individual;
  • Training and qualification certificates of the Principal Officer and authorized verifiers;
  • Details & declaration of the directors, partners, principal officers, promoters, & Key Management Personnel concerning fit & proper criteria stated in Form D of the Regulations;
  • A user id along with the temporary password to verify the insurance web aggregation website by IRDAI IT Department in a closed cover;
  • Notarised Self Certificate executed by 2 directors or designated partners of LLP certifying that:
  1. The Director & Principal Officer of the company are not found to be of unsound mind by a court of competent jurisdiction, major, and not found guilty for criminal misuse or cheating or criminal violation of trust or forgery or an abetment for an attempt to commit any such offence in the last 5 years by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Directors or applicants have not been involved in any economic offences for the last 3 years.
  2. The company must ensure that during the period of the Registration Certificate, the newt worth of the company is not lessened below Rs. 25 lakhs.
  3. The applicant or the Principal Officer or Director are not registered as a corporate agent or micro-insurance agent or TPA or insurance agent or surveyor or an insurance broker or loss assessor or other insurance intermediaries under the relevant regulations of IRDAI.
  4. The applicant company or its directors or the Principal Officer are not a related party of an insurance broker, TPA, insurer, surveyor, corporate agent, micro-insurance agent or other insurance intermediaries during the submission of the Registration Application for Insurance Web Aggregator Certificate & will maintain the same status during the period of the Registration Certificate of in future.
  5. None of the directors or employees of the company holds employment or directorships in or represents any other insurance-related entity.

Procedure for Insurance Web Aggregator Registration

The steps involved in the process for obtaining Insurance Web Aggregator Registration are as follows:

  • Filing of the Application with IRDAI

An applicant who wants to obtain an insurance web aggregator license needs to file an application with the IRDA in Form A of Schedule I of the IRDAI Regulations.

  • Documents and Fees Required

The directors of the company must file the application along with the prescribed documents. They also need to pay a prescribed fee of Rs 10,000 plus applicable taxes. The fee must be paid in the Form of DD (Demand Draft) to the IRDAI. If an application is filed without the application fee, it will not be processed further. Further, an application must also be supplemented with a detailed five-year business plan of the business. Furthermore, the business plan must lay down its plan of action and financial projections.

  • Eligibility Criteria

The applicant must also ensure that the company meets all the eligibility criteria before filling out the registration application for obtaining the Insurance Web Aggregator License. If the applicant company wants to perform the functions of telemarketing and outsourcing, it must specify the same in the application for registration.

  • Rejection of Application

The Authority has the power to reject an application which does not comply with the conditions of the IRDAI. In case of any omission or failure, the Authority will grant a period of thirty days to the applicant company to rectify all the mistakes before it rejects them.

  • Additional Information

The Authority can also ask the applicant or company to submit additional information or clarification concerning any details specified or documents submitted by it. Further, filing replies to the queries raised by IRDAI is a multi-stage process. A company may need to file multiple replies for one query. If the applicant fails to file a reply within thirty days from the date of communication, the Authority can reject the said application, and the applicant company needs to file a fresh application.

  • Grant of License

IRDAI in India will issue a certificate of registration to the applicant company if it is satisfied that all the information and documents submitted are true and correct. Moreover, it must also hold an opinion that the grant of such a License is in the interest of insurance policyholders.

Validity Period of Insurance Web Aggregator License

The certificate of Insurance Web Aggregator License has a validity of three years from the date the License was issued by the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India). At least thirty days before the expiry of the period of three years, the web aggregator needs to get the License renewed by filing an application.

Renewal of Insurance Web Aggregator License

The Insurance Web Aggregator must apply for the renewal to IRDAI in Form-F before the expiry of the registration. However, the Insurance Web Aggregator can also apply for the Renewal of Insurance Web Aggregator License before 90 days of the expiry of the registration in the manner specified by IRDAI. The application for the renewal needs to be submitted along with the documents listed in Form G of the Regulations & a renewal fee of Rs. 25,000 + taxes.

If the application for the renewal is not received by the IRDAI 30 days before the expiry, an additional fee of Rs. 100 per day will have to be paid. IRDAI may accept renewal application up to 60 days from the expiry date of registration on payment of an additional fee of Rs. 750 by the applicant.

IRDAI will renew the License after being satisfied that the web aggregator fulfils all the conditions specified in Form-H of the Regulations. The IRDAI may refuse renewal if it is found that the web aggregator is not doing any insurance business at the time of the entire or part of the earlier registration period.

FAQs of Insurance Web Aggregator License

The grounds on which the application for Insurance Web Aggregator License may be rejected are submission of false and unauthentic documents; Unable to furnish details and documents asked; and Non compliance of the regulations.

The advantages are the easy comparison between the insurance policies; contacts with each service provider without personal meet; a fair market competition; saves the customers’ time and energy spent in collecting information about different insurance policies.

The main functions are to display the Insurance Products along with their prices; facilitation of feature and benefit comparison between two or more insurance products; assistance in the process of the sale; and premium payment of insurance products.

According to the IRDAI (Insurance Web Aggregators) Regulations, 2017, the channels from which an insurance web aggregator can earn its revenue include charging a fee of up to Rs 50000; fix commission for any leads converted by them.

A Principal Officer is a person responsible for monitoring the overall functioning of an Insurance Web Aggregator.

The shareholder, promoter, or director of a company can become a Principal Officer.

Any person employed by the insurance web aggregator to solicit insurance policies is known as the Authorised Verifier.

Yes, the person needs to undergo training and pass an examination as prescribed by the IRDAI to become an Authorised Verifier.

To obtain a duplicate certificate, the insurance web aggregator needs to file an application in Form I together with the fee of Rs 1000 requesting the IRDAI to issue a duplicate certificate.

The Certificate of Compliance (COC) is a document submitted by the insurance web aggregator to IRDAI, stating that it has conformed to all the mandatory rules, regulations, and code of conduct throughout the year.

An Insurance Web Aggregator License remains valid for 3 years, starting from the Date of Registration.

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