The Insurance Information Bureau of India is looking to create a central database of intermediaries, so that insurers have more background about them before enlisting their services, reported Business Standard.
"The industry has been asking for a central record of the third parties for life and non-life insurance businesses and we are looking at the aspect. We…would seek the regulator's nod for such a database," the Bureau's CEO Kunnel Prem said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India.
"This data will help the industry while listing third parties. In future there could be a caution list from our end," he said.
Mr Prem noted that the many intermediaries include individual and corporate agents, third party agents (TPAs) in health insurance, and investigators in claims. Unfortunately, there are complaints against many of these third-party entities, but after being blacklisted, they could move on to another insurer which may not have their background.
“Such blacklisting happens at the company level. There is all the possibility that this information of blacklisting is not available to other insurance companies," Mr Prem said.
Citing an example of another sector with such a practice, Mr Prem said that for healthcare, there is a portal which offers common registration of clinical establishments which are in the insurance network.
"Out of 35,000 in the country, as many as 12,800 clinical establishments are registered with the portal. The registration process is on. Later, we will do data analytics after collecting the information," he added, reported Business standard.