IRDAI slaps Rs 24 lakh penalty on Policybazaar, here’s why

The matter relates to Policybazaar sending SMS between March 15, 2020, and April 7, 2020, to its customers without stipulating its full registered name in the message.

New Delhi: Insurance sector regulator Irdai has slapped a fine of Rs 24 lakh on policy aggregator Policybazaar for violating advertisement norms with regard to SMS sent to customers last year about increase in term insurance policy premiums. The matter relates to Policybazaar sending SMS between March 15, 2020, and April 7, 2020, to its customers without stipulating its full registered name in the message. The web aggregator had sent SMS to about 10 lakh customers telling them that life insurance prices are set to increase from April 1 and that they could save up to Rs 1.65 lakh by buying a term plan. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) levied three charges on Policybazaar -- sending misleading information through SMS about price rise, violation of regulation 11 and regulation 9 of advertisement and disclosure norms.