Agents are not the enemy and not a free fiduciary. They sit in a channel with disclosed incentives, and from January 2027 IRDAI wants every policy tagged to the selling salesperson. Your job in the meeting is to force clarity: fit, conflict, disclosure, and accountability if the advice was wrong.

Method and data basis

Question set built from IRDAI intermediary rules including salesperson tagging (effective January 1, 2027), the September 2026 commission cap consultation (what distributors earn today by product), standard proposal disclosure duties, and BimaNiti channel explainers (corporate agent versus broker versus POSP, app embedded cover). Digital payment verification is intentionally out of scope; that checklist lives in the buy online safely guide.

Fit questions

  • What exact need does this policy solve that I do not already have through group cover or an existing plan?
  • Why this structure (floater, individual, term, endowment) for my dependants and loans?
  • What sum insured and why, using my income and liabilities, not a round number?
  • Which hospitals in my city are cashless for this plan today?
  • Which waiting periods and PED terms apply to me specifically?

Conflict and channel questions

  • Are you a captive agent, corporate agent, broker, POSP or employee of a comparison platform?
  • Can you offer more than one insurer for this line, or only your principal?
  • What commission or fee do you and your firm earn on this sale, and on renewals?
  • If I decline add-ons or loan-linked cover, do I still get the core product on the same terms?
  • Who services claims if you leave the firm: you, a call centre, or the insurer directly?

Disclosure questions

  • What must I disclose that people usually omit (past surgeries, PED, smoking, income)?
  • What happens if I understate income to qualify for higher term cover?
  • Which cover changes need endorsement in writing, not WhatsApp approval?
  • From January 2027, how is your identity tagged on my policy if I need to complain later?

Reading commission pressure

The draft caps put hard ceilings on product-level payouts (for example credit life and high health commissions cited in the paper). Until finalised, assume high-payout products still create high pressure to sell. That does not make the product wrong; it means you should demand the fit questions in writing before the pressure questions about returns or bundling.

Green flags and stop signals

Green: answers that cite your schedule, admit multi-insurer limits, and welcome written follow-up. Stop: refusal to identify the licensed entity, pressure to inflate income, personal UPI for premium, or a product that only solves the seller's target.

What not to do

Do not skip questions because the agent is a relative. Do not treat relationship as disclosure. Do not accept verbal-only answers on exclusions or commission.

Connect the cluster

Channel differences: corporate agent versus broker. App sales: embedded cover. Commission draft: commission caps explainer. Tagging rule: salesperson tagging guide. Online-only path: buy online safely. First policy order: young adults checklist.