There has been no impact of the row with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on the regulatory stance on unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs), according to Mr J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

“The Authority's regulation of ULIPs has been evolving over a period of time and SEBI's latest position on ULIPs has not impacted our perspective on ULIPs,'' Mr Hari Narayan told Business Line here.

As IRDA has partly modified guidelines on ULIPs on Monday apart from reiterating certain aspects such as mandatory life cover for all ULIPs except those dealing with health insurance, there has been speculation in the industry about a perspective change in IRDA.

However, it was not the first time that the Authority had modified the guidelines. Right from 2005, it has been tweaking/clarifying on various aspects of ULIPs from time to time on the basis of various parameters including the insurance related data and the nature of complaints from the policy holders.

On the impact of SEBI's directive that 14 life insurers should take certificate of registration from it before rolling out new ULIPs on or after April 9, 2010, the IRDA chief said: “It will have no impact. We clear a lot of products every year and the same will be done this year. This is the time in the industry when they get ready for the year with new plans. They should be coming in from June generally.''

When asked whether the row with SEBI would bring about any perspective change in regulation towards ULIPs, Mr Narayan said there was no change.

“On ULIPs, we have tightened various disclosure norms a long time before the controversy,'' he said.

From a common ULIP holder's perspective, the stand-off with SEBI had a positive outcome. “Instead of looking at negative aspects of the issue, I see that people have become more aware of ULIPs,'' he said.