IRDA lists 1,491 training centres

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has said that temporary accredited agents' training institutes would cease to operate from January 1, and they would have to get licences afresh in order to continue their activities.

"The Insurance Institute of India and the Indian Institute of Bankers would allow only those candidates who are with its registered training insitutes to appear for the examination," IRDA said in its order. "The existing institutes, which had been granted temporary accredition, shall cease to operate from December 31, 2004."

It will be the responsibility of the insurance company to check the validity of accreditation, including address, before sponsoring any candidate for training, it cautioned.

In order to inform both the insurers and the candidates aspriring to become insurance agents, the regulator has posted on its website a list of 1,485 accredited training institutes and six online agents training institutes including in-house training institutes of the insurers.

"All the institutes are advised to apply for renewal of the accredition at least two months in advance," IRDA said in the notice. If the name of the training institute is not displayed on IRDA's website, insurers should not sponsor candidates for training candidates in such an institute.

The institutes should confine their activities only to the place/city for which it has received approval, it added.