The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has released the norms and clarifications for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector.

The department has clarified the four areas where such investment will be allowed while keeping the cap at 26 per cent through the automatic route. These are: insurance companies, insurance brokers, third-party administrators, and surveyors and loss assessors. The insurance law and the Insurance Regulator Regulations have similar caps for FDI, Foreign Institutional Investor (FII), and Non-resident Indian (NRI) investments.

The companies interested in foreign investment will have to receive the necessary licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) for undertaking prescribed activities.

Earlier, the Arvind Mayaram Committee had recommended composite FDI cap of 49 per cent for the insurance sector from the current 26 per cent within the norms stipulated by Irda.