What is the Eligibility Criteria for Web Aggregators (WA)?

Posted by Enterslice on December 4th, 2018

A web aggregator is a primarily a company approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which owns or maintains a website. This website will furnish all information on various insurance products available with different insurers to the ultimate clients. Thus WA for insurance purpose is nothing but a website portal or a search utility assisting a client to obtain a number of insurance quotes through an electronic e-quote form. The online Insurance Web Aggregators have entered in agreements with a number of insurance providers to present a comparative quote/price of policy based on a pre-determined list of individual needs as submitted/requested by probable clients or customers.

Such a company must own and maintain a website and it must provide information relating to various insurance products and its price/features comparisons of products of different Insurers available. Further, it offers leads to an Insurer in the matter.

Eligibility criteria for License of the Web Aggregator:

• The applicant seeking the grant of License/Renewal of license as a web aggregator must fulfill the eligibility conditions including but not limited to the following:
  • The applicant must be a company formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and complies with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms (in case of FDI availed) in force from time to time as applicable for insurance sector at the time of submission of its application. 
  • The main object clause of Memorandum of Association (MoA) of the applicant company must contain the mention of the business of web aggregation as one of its prime objects of the business.
  • The applicant must not be engaged in any other activity/business other than the main objects of the MoA;
  • The applicant shall not be an insurance agent, corporate agent, micro-insurance agent, TPA, surveyor, Loss assessor or an Insurance Broker under the relevant Regulations framed by the Authority.
  • The applicant shall not have any referral arrangement with an Insurer.
  • The applicant shall not be in any way a related party of an insurer, insurance broker, corporate agent, micro-insurance agent, TPA, Surveyor or a loss assessor at the time of submission of an application for web aggregator.

• The applicant company must employ/designate a Director as Principal Officer to manage the company affairs on a full-time basis.
• The Principal Officer must possess all the qualifications as prescribed in Schedule V.
• The Principal Officer should fulfill the conditions of fit and proper criteria set and notified by the Authority.
• The Principal Officer should not have violated any obligations of web aggregator as mentioned in Schedule VI and also any code of conduct as mentioned in Schedule VII of the Regulations.  
• The Authority must be satisfied and be of the opinion that the grant of the license will be in the interest of policyholders in large.
• The applicant company must have the minimum net worth/ paid up capital of Rs. 25 lakhs.
• Such application shall also enclose/submit a non-refundable registration fee of rupees ten thousand paid by way of a bank draft drawn in favor of ‘Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’ (IRDA) payable at Hyderabad.