Going forward, agents can on-board new clients through their Aadhaar cards.
IRDAI Chairman TS Vijayan has today said that the insurance regulator is considering using Aadhaar to simplify KYC process. He was speaking to the media at the 19th Insurance Summit organized by CII in Mumbai.
When asked by this reporter that what IRDAI is doing to simplify KYC, Vijayan said that they plan to leverage Aadhaar to simplify KYC process. Simply put, agents can on-board new clients through Aadhaar cards.
Vijayan said, “KYC can now be based on Aadhaar. It would be simple for intermediaries to carry out KYC procedure through Aadhaar. In fact, the government is working on a platform to simplify KYC process through Aadhaar and we are a part of it.”
He, however, clarified that the insurance regulator may not make Aadhaar a mandatory document for KYC.
Currently, policyholders need PAN card, an address proof and a cancelled cheaque to undergo KYC. Aadhaar card holders undergo In Person Verification (IPV) by submitting all these documents. Ideally, there is no need to do KYC and IPV again.
Though the government has launched central KYC last year to do away with the requirement of doing multiple KYCs, it would take time to get fully functional.