How to Check an Insurtech Startup's IRDAI Registration Claim

To check an insurtech startup's IRDAI registration, work out which kind of insurance entity it claims to be, find it in the matching list on IRDAI's website, and confirm that the website, the people and the policy documents all point to the same registered name. Comparison sites, embedded-insurance apps and checkout widgets often say "IRDAI licensed" in a footer. IRDAI does not keep one master register, so that phrase alone does not tell you which list to open.

2026 is also a transition year. Intermediary registrations no longer expire after three years, and existing intermediaries must apply for a fresh certificate. That changes how the validity columns in IRDAI's lists should be read. This is a research method for founders, editors and careful customers, not legal or insurance advice, and it does not decide whether a business model needs registration.

"IRDAI registered" can mean five different things

IRDAI publishes separate lists of registered insurance entities. The ones an insurtech claim usually points to are:

• Insurers: separate lists for life, general and health insurers. A startup here is itself the insurance company.
• Brokers: the List of Brokers gives each broker's category. In the list we checked, these included Direct Broker (General), Direct Broker (Life & General), Composite Broker and Reinsurance Broker.
• Corporate agents: banks and other companies registered to distribute insurers' products, marked Life, Non Life or Composite.
• Web aggregators: IRDAI describes these as intermediaries that maintain a website for price comparison and product information from different insurers.
• Insurance marketing firms (IMFs): firms registered to solicit insurance products and, in some cases, do back-office work for insurers.

Each list has its own "as on" date, and they vary. On 14 October 2026, the web aggregators page said "as on 16.06.2026" and the IMF list said "as on 30.09.2025". Note the date on the list you used, because a recent registration may not appear yet.

Sort the claim before you search

Copy the claim word for word, with where it appeared and the date. Then bucket it.

Claim wording	What it points to	What you can check
"IRDAI registered Direct Broker (Life & General), CoR No. …"	The startup's own broker registration	Name, number, category, Principal Officer and validity in the List of Brokers
"IRDAI registered web aggregator" with a code	The startup's own aggregator registration	Name, code, website address and validity in the Web Aggregators list
"IRDAI licensed" or "IRDAI approved", no category or number	Unknown	Ask for the category and number, then check
"Insurance provided by [insurer]"	The insurer's licence, not the startup's	The insurer's entry in the insurer lists, plus who distributes the policy
"Registration applied"	An application, not a registration	Record it as an application and revisit later

The fourth row is the one most often blurred. An app showing a policy from a well-known insurer may be entirely legitimate, but the insurer's licence does not make the app a broker, agent or aggregator. Someone in the chain is the registered distributor, and that is the entity you need to identify.

Step 1: find the legal entity behind the brand

IRDAI's lists use registered company names, which are often not the product name. Check the terms of use, privacy policy, footer, invoices and app store developer name. Then confirm the company with the MCA company master data method or the GST legal and trade name check. For apps, the app store identity check ties the listing to a real publisher.

Regulated distribution often sits in a subsidiary with a name like "… Insurance Broking Private Limited". That is normal. Record which company holds the registration and which runs the brand.

Step 2: search the right IRDAI list

Most lists are long English and Hindi tables, so your browser's find function beats scrolling. Compare the record with what the startup shows publicly:

1. Name: does it match the legal entity from Step 1?
2. Number or code: does every character match? Broker CoR numbers, corporate agent numbers (CA followed by digits) and web aggregator codes (such as IRDAI/INT/WBA/…/year) look different.
3. Category: a Direct Broker (General) is not a Direct Broker (Life & General). If a general-insurance broker is selling life cover, note it.
4. Principal Officer and email: each list names a Principal Officer. The email domain should usually belong to the startup or its group.
5. Website: the Web Aggregators list has a website column. If the domain in front of you differs, note it.

If the name is missing, try spelling variants and the parent company. Then record "not found in the [list] on [date]", not "fake". And remember clones: anyone can copy a registered broker's name and number onto a look-alike page, which is why the website column and Step 4 matter.

Step 3: read the validity columns the 2026 way

IRDAI's FAQ on the Insurance Intermediaries (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 says the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act, 2025 replaced the three-year registration for corporate agents, brokers, IMFs, web aggregators and common public service centres. A registration now stays in force, subject to an annual fee, until it is suspended, cancelled or surrendered. According to the FAQ:

• Existing intermediaries with a three-year registration must apply for a fresh certificate before 31 January 2027. A late application may be considered up to 31 March 2027 with reasons and an extra fee, but acceptance is not automatic. Without an application by then, the intermediary must stop acting as one.
• The registration number carries forward, and while an application is pending the intermediary can keep soliciting business if its old certificate is still valid.
• The annual fee is due before 31 January each year. If it is still unpaid when that financial year ends, the certificate is suspended from 1 April, and cancelled if not cleared within three months.

The lists now say a blank "To" date means the registration remains in force subject to the annual fee. So in October 2026 you will see two kinds of entry:

• "From" date, blank "To": registered under the new framework.
• "From" and "To" dates: an older three-year registration, valid on its face if the "To" date is in the future.

Neither is a red flag on its own. What matters is whether a dated entry has quietly passed its end date and, after March 2027, whether an old entry ever moved to the new framework.

Step 4: check the paperwork the customer receives

According to the same FAQ, from 1 January 2027 the proposal form, policy and certificate of insurance must show the salesperson's name and functional identity, and the mobile number and email of the soliciting branch or office. If a policy is sold through the intermediary's digital platform with no salesperson, the documents must show the Principal Officer's phone number and email.

That gives you a clean cross-check from January: a sample policy from an embedded-insurance flow should point to the same intermediary and Principal Officer as the IRDAI list. Before then, record "tagging rule not yet in force" rather than a failure.

For insurer claims, confirm the insurer in the life, general or health list (the life list shows each company's registration number and website), then check that the policy is actually issued by that insurer, not just branded with its logo.

Two warnings from IRDAI itself

• IRDAI's lists state that it does not work with any consultant or third party to process applications, and that no one should be paid to "guarantee" or "expedite" registration. A licence a consultant has "almost secured" is an application at best.
• The Bima Bharosa complaint portal says it never asks complainants for payment, and warns against look-alike sites and QR codes offering faster resolution.

What a confirmed record does and does not tell you

A confirmed record supports a narrow conclusion: on a stated date, a named entity appeared in a named IRDAI list, with a stated number and validity. It does not tell you that the products suit anyone, that claims will be paid smoothly, or that every site using the brand is run by the registered entity. Lending and payments sit with the RBI, so use the RBI authorisation check; investment advice sits with SEBI, so use the SEBI registration check. Keep each result in its own evidence column.

For founders making the claim

Put the category, exact registered name, number and Principal Officer in one line on your website, app listing and policy emails. If you rely on a partner, say so: "Distributed by [registered broker], IRDAI CoR No. …, underwritten by [insurer]." If you hold a three-year registration, apply for the fresh certificate well before 31 January 2027. When you list on SuperLaunch, use the same wording so editors can confirm it quickly.

Researcher checklist

1. Save the exact claim, where it appears and the date.
2. Sort it: insurer, broker, corporate agent, web aggregator, IMF, partner's licence or application.
3. Confirm the legal entity behind the brand.
4. Open the matching list and note its "as on" date.
5. Match name, full number, category, Principal Officer and, for aggregators, website.
6. Read "From" and "To" using the 2026 rules.
7. From 1 January 2027, compare sample policy documents with the list.
8. Publish only what the record supports, with your check date.

FAQ

How do I check if a company is IRDAI registered?

Find out which category it claims, open that list on irdai.gov.in, and match the registered name and full registration number. Note the list's "as on" date and your check date.

Why does an IRDAI broker or aggregator entry have no "To" date?

Under the 2026 amendment, intermediary registrations no longer run for three years. IRDAI's lists say a blank "To" date means the registration stays in force, subject to the annual fee, until suspended or cancelled.

A startup sells insurance but is not in any IRDAI list. Is it illegal?

Not necessarily. It may pass customers to a registered partner, the registration may sit with a group company, or the list may be out of date. Record "not found on [date]" and ask who the registered distributor is.

The practical rule

Treat "IRDAI registered" as the start of a question. Match the claim to a category, the category to a list, the entry to the legal entity, and the entity to the documents the customer receives. When every link holds, cite it with your check date; when one is missing, say so. Browse the SuperLaunch directory for companies to research, use the source-first verification workflow for other claims, and see our editorial policy for how sources and corrections are handled.

Sources checked on 14 October 2026

• IRDAI: FAQs on the Insurance Intermediaries (Amendment) Regulations, 2026
• IRDAI: Insurance Intermediaries (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (document page)
• IRDAI: List of Brokers
• IRDAI: List of Corporate Agents
• IRDAI: Web Aggregators (as on 16.06.2026)
• IRDAI: Insurance Web Aggregators FAQ
• IRDAI: List of IMFs
• IRDAI: Life, General and Health insurer lists
• Bima Bharosa complaint portal