Chennai: The race for the insurance regulator’s post has begun. With Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman N Rangachary’s term coming to an end in June 2003, insurance industry officials and bureaucrats have started scouting for an apt person to fill the slot.

Industry sources say United India Insurance Company CMD V Jagannathan, who is also the chairman of General Insurers (Public) Sector Association (GIPSA is an association of all the four government-owned general insurers), and former New India Assurance CMD and GIPSA chief K N Bhandari are eyeing the slot.

After retirement Bhandari offers insurance consultancy services to a couple of Delhi-based corporate groups and also teaches law at the National Law University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

In the private sector it is just AMP Sanmar Life Assurance CEO S V Mony who has the experience for the regulator’s job. But for Mony, the former General Insurance Corporation (GIC) chairman, age is the limiting factor. Otherwise most of the top executives of private insurers (life, non-life) are freshers for the insurance industry and are slowly getting set into the grove.

It won’t be a surprise if the savvy Jagannathan gets the regulator’s job. He became the CMD of United India bypassing another general manager who was senior to him.

In respect of the bureaucrats, expenditure secretary C S Rao’s name is being bandied about. In addition, around 43 IAS officers are likely to retire this year and many of them will also be angling for the insurance regulator’s post.

Regulating the insurance industry is quite tricky and very technical, which even an industry insider would find difficult to master fast. “If there are competent officials in IRDA then it is immaterial whether the regulator is an insurance professional or not,” say an industry source.