Expense Account, Mint
A committee set up by the insurance regulator earlier this month is all set to look into a host of issues, the chief being product structures in traditional life insurance products. There is arbitrage in the market as the unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) got a cleaner structure in 2010, but the traditional plans (whole life, money back, endowment) continue to be opaque products. The Committee on Design of Life Insurance Products will look into some 17-18 areas including pension products and the highest net asset value (NAV) Ulip plans. On the committee are the chief executive officers of Birla Sun Life, HDFC Standard Life and SBI Life, actuaries of Aegon Religare and Life Insurance Corp. of India and representatives of the Life Insurance Council and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda). The first meeting is on 22 May and the report is due in 15 days.