Irdai issues master circular, asks all insurers to transfer unclaimed deposits for over 10 years to SCWF

New Delhi: Insurance regulator Irda has issued a master circular on unclaimed amount of policyholders, asking all insurers to transfer the deposits of policyholders that have been laying unclaimed for over 10 years to the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund (SCWF).

“All insurers having unclaimed amounts of policyholders for a period of more than 10 years as on September 30, every year have to transfer the same to Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund (SCWF) on or before March 1, of the financial year,” the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has said in a circular.

Irdai has asked insurers to follow accounting procedure as detailed in the notification dated December 2017. Every financial year the process laid down in the SCWF Rules, 2016, shall be followed as regards transfer of the unclaimed amounts of policyholders, it added.

Life, non-life and health insurance service providers will have to comply to the SCWF Rules, 2016 every year.

The directions in the Master circular are hereby being updated more particularly, with regard to the monitoring, reporting and certification of unclaimed amounts. The master circular also provides for convergence in compliance taking into account various circulars issued by the Authority on the subject as well as the SCWF Act and the Rules notified thereunder, Irdai said.

An interest bearing account in the public fund of the government, SCWF has been set up for promoting welfare of senior citizens through schemes such as old age pensions, long term savings instruments, promotion of health care and nutrition and affordable health care among others.