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IRDAI Order in the matter of M/s. Edelweiss Life Insurance Company Limited

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  • IRDAI Order in the matter of M/s. Edelweiss Life Insurance Company Limited

The IRDAI (“Authority”) issued an Order in the matter of M/s Edelweiss Life Insurance Company Limited (formerly known as Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd.) (“Insurer” or “Company”) vide Order bearing reference number IRDAI/E&C/ORD/MISC/73/06/2025 dated 25th June 2025. The Order pertains to the Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 03rd December 2024, the submissions made by the Insurer through email dated 09th January 2025, during the personal hearing held on 03rd March 2025, and the subsequent submissions made vide email and letter dated 18th March 2025 and 18th April 2025, respectively.

The observations of the Authority and its decisions are summarized below:

ChargeViolationObservation of the AuthorityDecision of the Authority
1Violation of Clause 4B(i) and Clause 4B(ii) of the IRDAI Master Circular on Unclaimed Amounts of Policyholders (Ver. 02) dated 17th November 2020.



The Authority observed that the Insurer failed to capture the bank account details of policyholders at the proposal stage where the premium exceeded Rs. 10,000, as required under the Master Circular.

During the inspection, the Authority identified 230 cases where premium refund amounts exceeded Rs. 10,000 but the corresponding bank account details had not been collected at the proposal stage.



The Insurer contended that the bank account details were unavailable; however, it failed to furnish the information sought by the inspection team.

Warning and Advisory
  • The Insurer was advised to obtain complete bank account details of the proposer/insured at the proposal stage itself to ensure compliance with Clause 1(iii)(b) of Section 1, Part A of the Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders’ Interests, 2024.
  • The Authority also rejected the Insurer’s contention that collecting bank account details of policyholders was not necessary.
2Violation of:
  • Clause 3A(1), Clause 3A(3) and Clause 6 of the IRDAI Corporate Governance Guidelines for Insurers in India, 2016.
  • Regulations 10, 15 and 21 of the IRDAI (Outsourcing of Activities by Indian Insurers) Regulations, 2017.
  • Clause 4(b) and Clause 5 of the IRDAI Circular on Data Submission for Onsite Inspections dated 19th September 2018.
The Authority observed that the Insurer paid:
  • Rs. 6.52 crore during FY 2020-21.
  • Rs. 7.22 crore during FY 2019-20.

to its related parties, namely Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. (Holding Company) and Edelweiss Rural & Corporate Services Ltd. (Group Company).



A mark-up of 12% had been charged on costs allocated by these entities.



The invoices lacked sufficient details regarding the services rendered and no justification was provided for the 12% mark-up. Consequently, the Authority concluded that the Board/Audit Committee had failed to ensure that the related party transactions were undertaken on an arm’s length basis.

Penalty of Rs. One Crore and Advisory
  • A monetary penalty of Rs. 1 Crore was imposed under Section 102 of the Insurance Act, 1938 for violation of the Corporate Governance Guidelines, Outsourcing Regulations and Data Submission Circular.
  • The Insurer was advised to classify such transactions as outsourcing arrangements and report them to the Authority in accordance with the applicable regulations.
  • The Insurer was further advised to implement a Board-approved Outsourcing Policy with periodic review mechanisms and establish a Vendor Management Policy containing clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cost allocation.

Further directions issued by the Authority:

  • Remit the penalty amount of Rs. 1 Crore (Rs. 1,00,00,000) by debiting the shareholders’ account within 45 days from the date of receipt of the Order through NEFT/RTGS.
  • Intimate the remittance to Shri Sanjay Verma, General Manager (Enforcement & Compliance) at enforcement@irdai.gov.in, with a copy marked to accounts@irdai.gov.in.
  • Place the Order before the next meeting of the Board of Directors and submit a copy of the relevant Board minutes to the Authority.
  • Submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 90 days from the date of the Order.
  • If aggrieved by the Order, the Insurer may file an appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal under Section 110 of the Insurance Act, 1938.

Source category: IRDAI

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