In the fast-evolving digital landscape of the insurance sector, maintaining compliance is not just a regulatory requirement — it's a necessity for trust, transparency, and smooth operations. One of the most critical mandates for insurance brokers and intermediaries is the ISNP Audit.

If you're operating a digital platform under the Insurance Self-Network Platform (ISNP) model, you're legally required to undergo an annual ISNP Audit as per the IRDAI guidelines. This audit ensures that your platform adheres to prescribed standards of data security, customer service, and process transparency.

At GIS Consulting, we've worked with numerous insurance intermediaries across India to prepare, manage, and pass ISNP audits with confidence. In this blog, we break down the Top 7 Compliance Checkpoints that every platform must meet to sail through the ISNP Audit successfully.

What is an ISNP Audit?

An ISNP Audit is a comprehensive assessment conducted by CERT-IN empanelled auditors to verify whether an insurance intermediary's digital platform complies with the ISNP guidelines issued by IRDAI. The audit focuses on:

  • Cybersecurity standards
  • Transactional transparency
  • Grievance redressal
  • System uptime
  • Data privacy and protection

Failing to meet these requirements can lead to serious consequences such as warnings, penalties, or even cancellation of your digital selling license.

Why These Checkpoints Matter

The IRDAI mandates these audits to protect:

  • Customer data from misuse or leakage
  • Fair practices in digital insurance selling
  • Seamless and secure user experience
  • Accountability and compliance among digital insurance entities

Let's explore the top 7 ISNP Audit compliance checkpoints that you must understand and address.

1. Platform Security & VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing)

Your ISNP platform must be secure by design, which means it should be tested regularly for security vulnerabilities. As part of the audit, VAPT is mandatory to identify:

  • Weak access points
  • Open ports
  • Injection flaws (e.g., SQL injection)
  • Insecure APIs or third-party plugins
  • Inadequate encryption of customer data

How GIS Consulting Helps:

We coordinate with certified VAPT professionals to test your application and assist in patching all high and medium vulnerabilities before the audit.

2. Data Privacy and User Consent

Handling customer data responsibly is a cornerstone of ISNP compliance. You must have proper consent mechanisms in place for collecting, storing, and processing user data.

Checklist includes:

  • Opt-in checkboxes for consent
  • Data retention policies
  • Secure storage and encrypted transmission
  • Logs for user consent and changes

Any non-compliance here could lead to regulatory scrutiny under IRDAI as well as other laws like the IT Act and upcoming Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.

3. User Access Control & Authentication

Your ISNP platform must ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive modules like customer data, policy issuance dashboards, and transaction records.

Important access control features include:

  • Role-based access control (RBAC)
  • Password protection and multi-factor authentication (MFA)
  • Auto-logouts and session timeout policies
  • Audit trail of user logins and actions

GIS Consulting ensures that your platform implements and demonstrates these access protocols clearly to the auditor.

4. Transaction Transparency and Real-Time Policy Issuance

A core requirement of the ISNP guidelines is that insurance policies must be issued in real-time, with complete transparency around premium quotes, product features, and customer decisions.

Your platform must:

  • Display multiple insurer quotes without bias
  • Offer real-time quote comparison and policy selection
  • Ensure seamless policy issuance without manual intervention
  • Store policy transaction logs

Auditors will test dummy transactions to verify these features during the ISNP Audit.

5. Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Every ISNP platform must offer a robust customer grievance redressal process — both through digital channels and escalation paths.

As per IRDAI norms:

  • Customer complaints must be acknowledged within 24 hours
  • Resolution must happen within 15 days
  • Grievance records must be maintained for audit review
  • Escalation matrix (e.g., from nodal officer to IRDAI) should be clearly displayed

Platforms without this feature or poor ticket resolution rates may face non-compliance flags.

6. Audit Trail and Logging Mechanism

ISNP platforms must maintain an audit trail of all user activities, especially related to transactions, logins, and policy management. These logs help demonstrate transparency, prevent fraud, and support dispute resolution.

Your logging system should:

  • Record every transaction, login attempt, and user change
  • Store logs for a minimum of 6 months
  • Be accessible for audit at any time
  • Include timestamped entries with user IDs/IPs

GIS Consulting helps set up and document these logging mechanisms so your auditor has easy access to compliance evidence.

7. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Plans

Every digital insurance platform must have a plan in place for data recovery and business continuity in case of outages, server failures, or cyber-attacks.

Your documentation must include:

  • Regular data backup policies
  • Disaster Recovery (DR) site details
  • Downtime thresholds and RTO/RPO metrics
  • Periodic testing of DR readiness

Auditors will verify whether such plans exist and are tested regularly.

Bonus: Important Documents You Must Keep Ready

Along with technical compliance, documentation is equally crucial. Some key documents required for a smooth ISNP Audit include:

  • ISNP registration certificate from IRDAI
  • Information Security Policy
  • Data Privacy Policy
  • Cybersecurity policy
  • Grievance redressal SOP
  • User access matrix
  • VAPT reports with closure evidence
  • Business continuity and disaster recovery plans

GIS Consulting provides templates, review support, and compliance documentation to make this process seamless.

How GIS Consulting Simplifies ISNP Audit for You

At GIS Consulting, we understand that ISNP Audits can be stressful — especially with tight IRDAI deadlines and ever-changing guidelines. That's why we offer a comprehensive ISNP Audit support package that includes:

✅ Pre-audit gap analysis

 ✅ Documentation and policy drafting

 ✅ Coordination with CERT-IN auditors

 ✅ VAPT facilitation and patching support

 ✅ Real-time compliance mapping

 ✅ Post-audit report submission assistance

Our goal is simple: to ensure your platform is 100% audit-ready — secure, compliant, and efficient.

Conclusion 

The ISNP Audit is not just a compliance checklist — it's a validation of your platform's trustworthiness, data security, and customer-first approach. Ignoring or delaying ISNP compliance can lead to severe regulatory action from IRDAI.

By proactively addressing the Top 7 Compliance Checkpoints outlined in this blog — and partnering with experienced compliance professionals like GIS Consulting — you can ensure that your digital insurance business remains audit-ready, secure, and future-proof.