MANU/IRDA/0039/2007

Authority : Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

Circular No. : 007/IRDA/ CIR/ADV/MAY-07

Date : 14.05.2007

Notification/ Circulars Referred:032/IRDA/Actl/Dec-2005 MANU/IRDA/0041/2005

Referred IN

To

All the Insurers

Guidelines on Advertisement, Promotion & Publicity of Insurance Companies, and insurance intermediaries

The success of sales communication depends on public confidence and the faith they repose in the insurance companies, when they receive a communication from them promoting their products. As such the insurers are expected to adopt honest and fair practices in the market-place and avoid practices that tend to impair the confidence of the public. As it is very difficult for the public to understand and evaluate the latent intricacies involved in the various insurance products, it is of paramount importance that the publicity material is relevant, fair and transparent enabling informed decision making about whether or not to buy a specific insurance product. The verbal communication that the prospects receive from their advisors can be supplemented by the written material that is made available to them.

These guidelines issued with the above background are intended to protect the interests of the insuring public, enhance their level of confidence on the nature of sales material used and ultimately encourage fair business practices. They are to be considered as the minimum standards to be adhered to, in addition to compliance with the IRDA (Insurance Advertisements and Disclosure) Regulations, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as 'Advertisement Regulations') and the code of conduct prescribed by the Advertisement Standards Council of India (ASCI) and any other regulations as applicable. These guidelines reinforce the extant regulations on all promotional communications with policyholders/prospective policyholders or targeted market segment with the objective of soliciting insurance business or otherwise.

2. Categories of Advertisements:

For the purpose of these guidelines an advertisement may be classified into two types:

2.1. Institutional advertisement: This is the advertisement of any nature which is not, either directly or indirectly, intended to solicit the insurance business, but only promotes the brand image of the insurance companies and/or its intermediaries and may contain the registered name, address, toll-free number, logo or trademark thereof. Advertisements issued in any mode including those that highlight sponsorships fall under this category.

Any inclusion of product names or information about the products, performance of the companies or their funds, or the information about the product launches constitute insurance advertisements as defined in para 2.2 below.

2.2. Insurance advertisement: Any advertisement issued with the specific purpose of soliciting insurance business, and / or to influence the choice, opinion or behavior ........