IRDAI has notified amendments to the rules governing the registration, ownership structure and corporate restructuring of insurance companies, introducing a revised framework for share transfers, mergers and promoter eligibility, according to CNBC TV18 on July 31. The IRDAI (Registration of Insurers, Capital Structure, Transfer of Shares and Amalgamation) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, published in the Gazette on July 30, came into effect immediately.
Regulatory approval is now required when a shareholder's holding crosses thresholds of 5%, 10%, 25%, 50% and 75%, or when an investor becomes the single largest shareholder. Approval is also required for transfers within promoter groups, and the regulator can examine structures used to circumvent the thresholds.
The amendments also widen the circumstances for relaxing share lock-in requirements — including listing of insurers on Indian stock exchanges, financial distress, and mergers arising from changes in law — and introduce a framework permitting a holding company owning over 50% of an insurer to merge with it, subject to policyholder protection and solvency conditions. SPVs may now act as promoters under prescribed conditions.
Source: CNBC TV18 (July 31, 2026)