What does it take to start an insurance company in India?
An IRDAI licence and at least ₹100 crore of paid-up capital (₹200 crore for a reinsurer), which is why most insurance startups begin as intermediaries instead. The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, notified on 21 December 2025, raised foreign ownership of an insurer from 74% to 100%, with the foreign investment rules in force from 2 May 2026, but it did not cut the capital bar or allow a composite licence, so a life insurer still cannot sell non-life insurance. The realistic routes: an IRDAI direct broker licence needs ₹75 lakh of capital and a net worth that never falls below ₹50 lakh, while corporate agents and web aggregators are other licensed ways to sell policies; or build software that insurers and brokers buy. Study IRDAI's lists of licensed intermediaries, then talk to a lawyer who has filed an application.
PRS's neutral summary of the 2025 insurance law: foreign investment in Indian insurers raised from 74% to 100%, foreign reinsurers' net owned funds cut from ₹5,000 crore to ₹1,000 crore, and the IRDAI approval threshold for share transfers raised from 1% to 5%.
A section-by-section note on the Act, notified on 21 December 2025, including the FEMA changes effective 2 May 2026 that let insurers and intermediaries have a majority of non-resident directors.
An explainer on what the 2025 law leaves out: no composite licence (a life insurer still cannot sell non-life insurance), and no cut to the minimum capital of ₹100 crore for insurers and ₹200 crore for reinsurers.
The brokers' association's walk-through of the broker regulations: capital of ₹75 lakh for a direct broker (₹4 crore reinsurance, ₹5 crore composite), net worth that must not fall below ₹50 lakh, and a ₹10 lakh deposit.
The regulator that registers every insurer and insurance intermediary in India, and publishes the registration regulations, circulars and lists of licensed entities.
IRDAI's public lists of licensed brokers, corporate agents, web aggregators and other intermediaries, the quickest way to see who already holds each kind of licence.
