Anyone who has argued with an insurer about a policy they say was mis-sold knows the first problem: proving who sold it, and what that person promised. From 1 January 2027, that gets easier to establish. The insurance regulator has cleared reforms that put a named, identifiable seller on the paperwork for policies sold through intermediaries.
The Tagging Rule
At its 137th Authority Meeting on 28 July 2026, IRDAI approved amendments to the rules governing insurance intermediaries, calling the mandatory tagging of the authorised salesperson to every insurance proposal, policy and certificate a key reform for accountability and traceability across distribution.
The operational detail sits in the amendment regulations. As Business Standard reported, the name and functional identity of the person who sold the policy, the name and functional identity of the broker-qualified person, point-of-sales person, designated person, authorised verifier or other authorised salesperson who sold the policy must be recorded in proposal forms, policy documents and certificates of insurance, along with the contact details of the branch or office that sourced it. Where a policy is sold straight off an intermediary’s digital platform with no salesperson involved, the principal officer’s contact details go in instead. Intermediaries must also maintain records identifying the individual behind each sale or solicitation. These tagging requirements take effect from 1 January 2027.
Why It Matters at Complaint Time
Mis-selling disputes usually turn on conversations that left no trace. A tagged document changes the starting point of that argument: the complaint can identify the person involved in the sale and the branch or office through which it was solicited, giving the insurer and regulator a clearer trail to investigate. Whether it shortens disputes in practice is the open question, and it will depend on how thoroughly the tag is captured and how insurers treat it once a complaint lands.
A Fund, and a Penalty Framework
Two other approvals from the same meeting sit alongside it. The IRDAI (Policyholders’ Education and Protection Fund) Regulations, 2026 operationalise the PEPF constituted under Section 16A of the IRDA Act, 1999, as introduced through the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025. The regulator describes it as a dedicated mechanism to promote insurance awareness and literacy, strengthen grievance redressal, use technology to improve policyholder services, and help trace and recover unclaimed insurance amounts. That last purpose has a large problem behind it: unclaimed amounts with life insurers stood at ₹20,062 crore at the end of FY24, down only slightly over the year.
The Authority also approved the IRDAI (Manner and Procedure for Imposition of Penalties) Regulations, 2026, setting a transparent, uniform and proportionate enforcement framework under the Insurance Act, 1938 and the IRDA Act, 1999, with a structured process for starting proceedings, issuing show-cause notices and passing reasoned orders. Separately, periodic registration renewals for intermediaries give way to perpetual registration backed by an annual fee.
What a Policyholder Can Do Now
Until the tagging rule starts, the burden of remembering who said what still sits with the buyer, and it stays there for every policy bought before 2027. Keeping the seller’s name, the branch and the date of the conversation alongside the policy document costs nothing and is exactly what a grievance needs. MyRupia’s commission-free consultations can also help policyholders review an existing policy against what they understood they were buying and assess whether there may have been a mis-selling concern.
Disclaimer: This MyRupia article is for informational purposes only and is based on publicly available government, regulatory and industry sources. It should not be treated as investment, financial, tax, insurance, or legal advice. Information, examples, market data, and expert views mentioned in the article may change over time and should not be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, invest in, or surrender any financial product. Readers should evaluate their individual circumstances and consult a qualified financial professional before making decisions.