(1)No person shall, after the commencement of this Act, begin to carry on any class of insurance business in India and no insurer carrying on any class of insurance business in India shall, after the expiry of three months from the commencement of this Act, continue to carry on any such business, unless he has obtained from the Authority a certificate of registration for the particular class of insurance business:Provided that in case an insurer who was carrying on any class of insurance business in India at the commencement of this Act, failure to obtain a certificate of registration in accordance with the requirements of this sub-clause shall not operate to invalidate any contract of insurance entered into by him if before such date as may be fixed in this behalf by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette he has obtained that certificate:Provided further that a person or insurer, as the case may be, carrying on any class of insurance business in India, on or before the commencement of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, for which no registration certificate was necessary prior to such commencement, may continue to do so for a period of three months from such commencement or, if he had made an application for such registration within the said period of three months, till the disposal of such application:Provided also that any certificate of registration, obtained immediately before the commencement of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, shall be deemed to have been obtained from the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
