|
|
Finmin
should have resolved ULIP stalemate: CUTS
PTI, April 18, 2010
|
Consumer think tank CUTS on Sunday said the
stalemate between regulators SEBI and IRDA over
administration of ULIPs should have been resolved
by the Finance Ministry itself and not been
referred to courts.
"Why
can't the Finance Ministry call both the
regulators and resolve the matter across the
table? Does it really matter whether it is the
IRDA (insurance regulator) which regulates ULIPs
or the SEBI (market regulator) does?" CUTS
International Secretary General Pradeep S Mehta
said.
He
said all that the consumer and the investor want
is a clean and transparent system that reduces
chances of arbitrage or unfair practice.
The
issue over Unit Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs)
turned controversial after SEBI banned 14 life
insurers, including SBI Life, ICICI Prudential and
Tata AIG, from raising further money from these
schemes.
However, IRDA asked insurers to ignore the
directive. To resolve the impasse, the two
regulators met Finance Ministry officials after
which it was decided by the watchdogs to jointly
seek a legally binding mandate from court over who
regulates ULIPs. Till then, status quo ante was
restored.
Subsequently, SEBI amended its previous order and
banned the companies from launching any fresh
ULIPs, which was also ignored by IRDA.
CUTS
said such disputes were not healthy and wherever
there are overlapping issues between the
authorities, the government should mandate mutual
consultation through policy directive.
"The
Finance Ministry should tell IRDA to consult SEBI
as a mandatory exercise, rather than do it without
such direction," Mehta said.
He
said, "In future, we may see similar spats between
the Competition Commission of India and sector
regulators like telecom or electricity on
anti-competitive practices or mergers."
Unit-Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs) are
insurance products, which combine insurance
policies with investment in capital markets.
This news item can also be viewed
at:
http://www.ptinews.com/
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/
http://www.business-standard.com/
http://news.chennaionline.com/
http://oindiabusinessnews.posterous.com/
Archives
|
