Section 2 in The Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority (Micro-Insurance) Regulations, 2005
2. Definitions.-
In these regulations, unless the context requires otherwise--(a)"Act" means the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938);(b)"Authority" means the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999);(c)"family" means a unit comprising of husband, wife, dependant parents and a maximum of three children:Provided that where the number of children is more than three, for construing the composition of family as aforesaid, the first three children shall be included:Provided further that an insurer may, within the aforesaid parameters laid down for the composition of the family, define "family" as per the requirements of the individual or group;(d)"general micro-insurance product" means any health insurance contract, any contract covering the belongings, such as, hut, livestock or tools or instruments or any personal accident contract, either on individual or group basis, as per terms stated in Schedule I appended to these regulations;(e)"life micro-insurance product" means any term insurance contract with or without return of premium, any endowment insurance contract or health insurance contract, with or without an accident benefit rider, either on individual or group basis, as per terms stated in Schedule II appended to these regulations;(f)"micro-insurance agent" means.-(i) a Non-Government Organisation (NGO); or (ii) a Self Help Group (SHG); or (iii) a Micro-Finance Institution (MFI), who is appointed by an insurer to act as a micro--insurance agent for distribution of micro-insurance products.Explanation.-For the purposes of these regulations:--(I)Non-Government Organisation (NGO) means a non-profit organisation registered as a society under any law, and has been working at least for three years with marginalised groups, with proven track record, clearly stated aims and objectives, transparency, and accountability as outlined in its memorandum, rules, by-laws or regulations, as the case may be, and demonstrates involvement of committed people.(II)Self Help Group (SHG) means any informal group consisting of ten to twenty or more persons and has been working at least for three years with marginalised groups, with proven track record, clearly stated aims and objectives, transparency and accountability as outlined in its memorandum, rules, by-laws or regulations, as the case may be, and demonstrates involvement of committed people.(III)Micro-Finance Institution (MFI) means any institution or entity or association registered under any law for the registration of societies or co-operative societies, as the case may be, inter alia, for sanctioning loan/finance to its members.(g)"micro-insurance policy" means an insurance policy sold under a plan which has been specifically approved by the Authority as a micro-insurance product;(h)"micro-insurance product" includes a general micro-insurance product or life insurance product, proposal form and all marketing materials in respect thereof;(i)all words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938), or in the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999) or in any Rules or Regulations made there-under shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts or Rules or Regulations.
