The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has granted special approvals to 16 Cross Border Reinsurers (CBR) for 2018-19.
The approvals were given on the basis of submissions and recommendations made by the insurers and re-insurers, Executive Director Suresh Mathur said in a communication listing the CBRs. The last fiscal, the IRDAI had issued special approval to 18 such entities.
Cross Border Reinsurers are those who do not have an office in the country, but provide reinsurance to Indian insurers. Sources estimated CBRs to account for around one-third of the reinsurance business from the country. The regulator provides special approvals to CBRs every fiscal and the numbers vary.
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The remaining reinsurance business is shared between GIC Re, which is the notified Indian reinsurer, and foreign reinsurers with branch offices.
Among the CBRs who received the special approval of the regulator are HDFC International Life and Re Company Ltd of UAE; Joint Stock Company Russian National Reinsurance Company; East African Reinsurance Company Ltd of Kenya; Nepal Reinsurance Company Ltd and GIC- Bhutan Reinsurance Company Ltd. The other CBRs approved include those from Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand, Morocco, China and Iran.
As regards the draft Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Reinsurance) Regulations-2018, on which the regulator had sought comments/suggestions from stakeholders earlier this year, the sources said a lot of comments were received. The regulator is in the process of reworking the draft and taking forward the proposed regulations that would touch upon the entire re-insurance eco-system, which includs CBRs.
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