Supreme Court Orders IRDAI to Disclose Life Insurance Data for Autism, Cerebral Palsy Cases
Life insurance disclosures could provide greater clarity on how insurers handle cases involving autism and cerebral palsy.
Life insurance data on autism and cerebral palsy cases will be disclosed by IRDAI following a Supreme Court order.
Life Insurance: The Supreme Court has directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to compile and submit data on how many life insurance policies have actually been issued to persons with autism, cerebral palsy and Asperger’s syndrome, signalling closer judicial scrutiny of insurers’ claims around disability coverage.
A Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice R. Mahadevan passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the NGO Action for Autism, in the case titled Action for Autism vs. Union of India.
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Life Insurance: Court Questions Whether Circulars Have Translated Into Actual Policies
During the hearing, counsel for IRDAI informed the Bench that the regulator had already issued two circulars addressing insurance provision for persons with autism, and that these circulars had been placed on record along with IRDAI’s counter-affidavit in the matter.
The Court, however, pressed further — asking not whether policy frameworks existed on paper, but whether life insurance policies had actually been issued to persons with autism in practice. In response, the Bench directed IRDAI to obtain instructions and prepare concrete data on the number of life insurance policies issued to persons with autism, cerebral palsy and Asperger’s syndrome, covering both public sector and private sector insurers. IRDAI has been asked to place this data on record by the next date of hearing.
Life Insurance: PIL Seeks Broader Systemic Reforms for Neurodivergent Persons
The petition, filed in 2025 by Action for Autism, seeks wide-ranging systemic reforms to ensure that existing disability-rights protections are effectively implemented for neurodivergent persons, including those with autism, dyslexia and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It flags barriers faced by neurodivergent individuals across multiple domains — healthcare, education, employment, and financial and insurance services.
The Supreme Court had earlier sought the Union government’s response to the plea. The scope of the proceedings has since widened to specifically take up questions of insurance access and coverage for neurodivergent persons, with the latest order marking a direct push for verifiable data rather than regulatory assurances alone.
The matter will next be heard once IRDAI places the requested data before the Court.
