New Delhi, Sept. 29 -- In recent months, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has taken several significant supervisory steps.

In May, the regulator amended its corporate governance master circular to set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the variable pay of every member of the key managerial personnel, covering the entire C-suite. Months earlier, Irdai barred Edelweiss Life, Pramerica Life, ACKO General, and Niva Bupa from opening new branches for six months following breaches of the expense of management (EoM) limits. In all, 23 insurers sought forbearance for exceeding the cap.

The same applies to distribution. The 2023 EoM reform set an overall ceiling of 30-35% of gross written premium and let eac...