Know is Insurers Can Use Video Based KYC Identification

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed insurance providers (whether general or life insurance) to offer insurance plans to customers through a video-based identification procedure. This move has been taken to help health insurance Company officials undergo and complete the mandatory KYC (Know your customer) information online owing to the current pandemic situation.

What is a Know Your Customer (KYC) video?

A video KYC is conducted by the insurance company officials to ensure that the policy issued to the person is alive and real. It lets the insurance officials verify it through a live online video call. All insurance companies, whether life or non-life companies are from now onwards permitted to use a VBIP(video-based identification process) to get KYC documents of the potential customers. These documents are mandatory to be collected before issuing the policy. The insurance officials are required to complete the whole process through their official technology channels that help in recording videos of the insured.

How Will the Whole Process Be Conducted?

Authorized representatives or staff from the insurance company can do a live video recording of the insured at the home of their home and get the needed information. Customer can either share their official information through Aadhaar or any other official document like a driver's license and passport. In case an individual has signed themselves up for a digilocker facility, then they can also submit a digitally signed copy. Also, they can share it simply through a clear photograph or a scanned copy of the official document. Along with the time stamp and date, the live location of the policyholder will also be captured. However, the Know Your Customer process will be valid only if the potential customer is in India. Also, the policyholder should ensure that their face is visible and not covered in any way in the video.

How will the Process Benefit the Policyholder?

During these times of pandemic, the policyholder is not required to visit the branch of the insurer or the office of the agent to complete the whole process of buying the policy, along with the KYC identification. The policyholder is required to answer the question through a video rather than doing it physically, apart from submitting KYC documents online to complete the entire verification procedure.

While the responsibility of doing a secure transaction is with the insurance company, make sure that you are dealing with an authorized representative of the insurance provider and that the recording of the video is conducted via channels authorized by the company.

Note: No additional cost has to be incurred by the policyholder for the video KYC procedure.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and is meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.