MICRO INSURANCE IN INDIA

-As a part of developmental role, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) finalized and issued guidelines on Micro insurance on 10thNovember, 2005 after discussing it at various forums. Micro insurance will meet the need for having insurance products which can be afforded by the rural and urban poor. The Regulations on Micro insurance provides a platform and rules to procure insurance for the targeted segment of the society. The regulations provide for a tie up between a life & a non-life insurance company for distribution of insurance products to improve the penetration of insurance in the selected segment. Thus cross-selling is permitted in this area by the IRDA. For encouraging the sale of Micro insurance products, the Authority has mandated that these would form part of the social and rural obligations of an insurer prescribed under the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938. The aim of this paper is to throw some light on the micro insurance guidelines in India and also to see speed of its growth as in India, more than two-third of the population lives below poverty line and therefore the importance of micro finance is undeniable.作为其发展职能的一部分，印度保险监管与发展局（Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, IRDA）于2005年11月10日，经多轮论坛研讨后，正式敲定并发布了微型保险（Micro insurance）相关指引。微型保险旨在满足城乡低收入群体可负担的保险产品需求。《微型保险监管条例》为社会特定目标群体获取保险服务搭建了平台并制定了相关规则。该条例允许寿险与非寿险保险公司开展合作，通过联合分销保险产品，提升目标群体的保险渗透率。因此印度保险监管与发展局允许该领域开展交叉销售业务。为推动微型保险产品的销售，该局规定此类业务需纳入保险公司根据1938年《保险法》（Insurance Act, 1938）所规定的社会与农村业务义务范畴。本文旨在阐释印度微型保险相关指引，并探析其发展速度——鉴于印度超三分之二的人口生活在贫困线以下，微型金融的重要性不言而喻。