With effect from 1 April 2024, IRDAI has removed the age limit for purchasing health insurance policies.Earlier, 65 years was the age limit for buying new health insurance policies [6] IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

In India insurance was mentioned in the writings of many historical documents, which examined the pooling of resources for redistribution after fire, floods, epidemics and famine.[relevant?]

The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished principal agencies, but the level of competition was high and there were allegations of unfair trade practices.

Eleven years later, the Insurance Act was amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee was established.

In 1993, the government set up a committee chaired by former Reserve Bank of India governor R. N. Malhotra to propose recommendations for insurance reform complementing those initiated in the financial sector.

Objectives of the IRDA include promoting competition to enhance customer satisfaction with increased consumer choice and lower premiums while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market.

The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with an invitation for registration applications; foreign companies were allowed ownership up to 26 percent.

In December 2000, the subsidiaries of the General Insurance Corporation of India were restructured as independent companies and the GIC was converted into a national re-insurer.

[9] At present ( January, 2023 ), the authority is chaired by Mr. Debasish Panda [10] and its full-time members[11] are Mrs T.L.Alamelu, K.Ganesh, Pournima Gupte, Praveen Kutumbe and Sujay Banarji.