Act 1939
Insurance Act, 1938
Issued by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
Effective: 1 Jul 1939
Plain-English summary
The Insurance Act, 1938, is completely operational and acts as the prime statutory structure regulating the financial stability, registration, and customer protection structures of the insurance and reinsurance industry. While retaining the base-level customer protections such as the non-repudiation clause that operates for 3 years, the framework saw its biggest change with the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Amendment Act, becoming applicable from 5 February 2026. These recent changes brought about the inclusion of revolutionary clauses such as 100% FDI, composite licenses for both life and health insurance, and reduced capitalization restrictions on foreign reinsurers, among others.
Who it applies to
Insurance
Topics
Prudential & Capital Insurance & Pensions
Latest news
-
India's external debt rises to $778.2 billion at June 2026
1 Oct 2026
Reserve Bank of India issued the Quarterly Report on External Debt as of the end of June 2026. The total external debt of India has increased to $778.2 billion, up by $15.4 billion. The external debt-to-GDP ratio has de…
-
RBI finalizes Basel III market risk capital requirements for banks
26 Sep 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has issued final Directions on minimum capital requirements for market risk under the revised Basel III framework, effective April 1, 2027. The framework adopts the Simplified Standardised Appr…
-
RBI penalizes gold-loan fintech KLM Axiva Finvest Limited for auction surplus non-payment
26 Sep 2026
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.70 lakh on KLM Axiva Finvest Limited for regulatory non-compliance discovered during statutory inspection. The company failed to remit surplus amounts to borrow…