IRDAI Holds Dark Pattern, Aadhaar Training for Insurance Companies’ Officials
IRDAI is focusing on responsible digital practices and Aadhaar guidelines, educating insurers’ officials on identifying misleading online practices and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
IRDAI is conducting training sessions on dark patterns and Aadhaar-related compliance for insurance company officials to strengthen regulatory awareness and consumer protection.
NEW DELHI: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) held a workshop on Aadhaar authentication, DigiLocker and dark patterns for the Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) of all insurers at its Head Office in Hyderabad on Monday.
The workshop was inaugurated by Ajay Seth, Chairman of IRDAI, and Saurabh Vijay, Chief Executive Officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). In his keynote address, the Chairman encouraged the insurance industry to adopt Aadhaar authentication services and integrate DigiLocker into its operational workflows. He also called on insurers to ensure transparent and fair digital practices. The UIDAI CEO outlined how Aadhaar can strengthen processes across the insurance lifecycle.
IRDAI: UIDAI Presents Face, Biometric and OTP-Based Authentication
Representatives of UIDAI conducted the session on Aadhaar authentication, which covered face, biometric and OTP-based methods. Insurers were urged to adopt face authentication, which enables liveness detection and can be accessed anytime, anywhere through a mobile phone.
The session highlighted that using Aadhaar during customer onboarding enables a seamless, faster and paperless experience, while improving data accuracy and helping mitigate the risk of fraud. Use cases ranging from customer onboarding to claims settlement were presented, showing how Aadhaar authentication can make service delivery to policyholders secure, seamless and efficient. UIDAI also emphasized that Aadhaar authentication should be carried out exclusively through UIDAI, which it described as the only source of truth.
Representatives of the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) conducted the session on DigiLocker. They presented use cases of DigiLocker and Entity Locker across the insurance value chain and product lines.
IRDAI: Insurers Told to Keep Digital Journeys Free of Dark Patterns
The session on dark patterns in the digital insurance journey was conducted by R. K. Sharma, Executive Director, IRDAI. It covered the key provisions of the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, which were notified by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).
Insurers were told to avoid forcing visitors to their websites to part with personal details, such as a mobile number, as a condition for accessing information or generating a quote. The session stressed that digital insurance journeys should be free of dark patterns and should help consumers understand insurance products, make informed decisions and control their personal information and communications.
Transparent disclosures, fair choice architecture and purpose-specific consent were identified as the key pillars of a fair, responsible and trustworthy digital insurance ecosystem that builds long-term consumer trust and loyalty.
