Insurance sector in India

 Insurance is an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen or a risk-transfer mechanism that ensures full or partial financial compensation for the loss or damage caused by event(s) beyond the control of the insured party. Under an insurance contract, a party (the insurer) indemnifies the other party (the insured) against a specified amount of loss, occurring from specified eventualities within a specified period, provided a fee called premium is paid. In general insurance, compensation is normally proportionate to the loss incurred, whereas in life insurance usually a fixed sum is paid. 
Some types of insurance (such as product liability insurance) are an essential component of risk management, and are mandatory in several countries. Insurance, however, provides protection only against tangible losses. It cannot ensure continuity of business, market share, or customer confidence, and cannot provide knowledge, skills, or resources to resume the operations after a disaster.

Brief history of insurance sector 

The insurance sector in India has completed all the facets of competition - from being an open competitive market to being nationalized and then getting back to the form of a liberalized market once again. The history of the insurance sector in India reveals that it has witnessed complete dynamism for the past two centuries approximately.With the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Kolkata, the business of Indian life insurance started in the year 1818. 

Important milestones in the Indian life insurance business

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act came into force for regulating the life insurance business. 

1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted for enabling the government to collect statistical information on both life and non-life insurance businesses.

1938: The earlier legislation consolidated the Insurance Act with the aim of safeguarding the interests of the insuring public.

1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies were taken over by the central government and they got nationalized. LIC was formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956. It started off with a capital of Rs. 5 crore and that too from the Government of India.

The history of general insurance business in India can be traced back to Triton Insurance Company Ltd. (the first general insurance company) which was formed in the year 1850 in Kolkata by the British. 

Important milestones in the Indian general insurance business

1907: The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. was set up which was the first company of its type to transact all general insurance business.

1957: General Insurance Council, an arm of the Insurance Association of India, framed a code of conduct for guaranteeing fair conduct and sound business patterns.

1968: The Insurance Act improved for regulating investments and set minimal solvency levels and the Tariff Advisory Committee was set up.

1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalized the general insurance business in India. It was with effect from 1st January 1973.

107 insurers integrated and grouped into four companies viz. the National Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. GIC was incorporated as a company.
Insurance industry, as on 1.4.2000, comprised mainly two players: the state insurers:

Life Insurers: 

(1) Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) General Insurers: 

(2) General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) (with effect from Dec'2000, a National Reinsurer) GIC had four subsidiary companies, namely 

i) The Oriental Insurance Company Limited

ii) The New India Assurance Company Limited

iii) National Insurance Company Limited

iv) United India Insurance Company Limited.

(With effect from Dec'2000, these subsidiaries have been de-linked from the parent company and made as independent insurance companies)

The Insurance sector in India is governed by Insurance Act, 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of  India (IRDAI) Act, 1999 and other related Acts. With such a large population and the untapped market area of this population, insurance happens to be a very big opportunity in India. Today it stands as a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually. Together with banking services, it adds about 7 per cent to the country's GDP .In spite of all this growth the statistics of the penetration of the insurance in the country is very poor. Nearly 80% of Indian populations are without Life insurance cover and the Health insurance. This is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector is immense in India. It was due to this immense growth that the regulations were introduced in the insurance sector and in continuation "Malhotra Committee" was constituted by the government in 1993 to examine the various aspects of the industry. The key element of the reform process was Participation of overseas insurance companies with 26% capital. Creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy was the main idea behind this reform. Since then the insurance industry has gone through many sea changes .The competition that LIC started facing from these companies were threatening to the existence of LIC. Since the liberalization of the industry, the insurance industry has never looked back and today stand as the one of the most competitive and exploring industry in India. The entry of the private players and the increased use of the new distribution are in the limelight today. The use of new distribution techniques and the IT tools has increased the scope of the industry in the longer run. 

Insurance sector reforms

In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. 

The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at "creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms.". In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included: 

1) Structure

• Government stake in the insurance Companies to be brought down to 50%.
• Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations
• .All the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate.

2) Competition

• Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1bn should be allowed to enter the industry.
• No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance through a single entity.Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration with the domestic companies.
• Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market.Only One State Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operate in each state.

3) Regulatory Body 

• The Insurance Act should be changed.
• An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up.
• Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should be made independent.

4) Investments 

• Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be reduced from 75% to 50%.
• GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company (There current holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of time).

5) Customer Service

• LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days.
• Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension plans.
• Computerization of operations and updating of technology to be carried out in the insurance industry. 

The committee emphasized that in order to improve the customer services and increase the coverage of the insurance industry should be opened up to competition.But at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise caution as any failure on the part of new players could ruin the public confidence in the industry. Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way by stipulating the minimum capital requirement of Rs.100 crores. The committee felt the need to provide greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve their performance and enable them to act as independent companies with economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed setting up an independent regulatory body. 

Independent Regulatory Body - IRDAI 

Insurance sector has been opened up for competition from Indian private insurance companies with the enactment of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDA Act). As per the provisions of IRDA Act, 1999, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was established on 19th April 2000 to protect the interests of holder of insurance policy and to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry. 

IRDA Act 1999 paved the way for the entry of private players into the insurance market which was hitherto the exclusive privilege of public sector insurance companies/ corporations. Under the new dispensation Indian insurance companies in private sector were permitted to operate in India with the following conditions: Company is formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956;

The aggregate holdings of equity shares by a foreign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or its nominees, do not exceed 26%, paid up equity capital of such Indian insurance company. The company's sole purpose is to carry on life insurance business or general insurance business or reinsurance business.The minimum paid up equity capital for life or general insurance business is Rs.100 crores.The minimum paid up equity capital for carrying on reinsurance business has been prescribed as Rs.200 crores. The Authority has notified 27 Regulations on various issues which include Registration of Insurers, Regulation on insurance agents, Solvency Margin, Re-insurance, Obligation of Insurers to Rural and Social sector, Investment and Accounting Procedure, Protection of policy holders' interest etc. Applications were invited by the Authority with effect from 15th August, 2000 for issue of the Certificate of Registration to both life and non-life insurers. The Authority has its Head Quarter at Hyderabad.

India Insurance Policies at a Glance

Indian insurance companies offer a comprehensive range of insurance plans, a range that is growing as the economy matures and the wealth of the middle classes increases. The most common types include: term life policies, endowment policies, joint life policies, whole life policies, loan cover term assurance policies, unit-linked insurance plans, group insurance policies, pension plans, and annuities. General insurance plans are also available to cover motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and health insurance. Due to the growing demand for insurance, more and more insurance companies are now emerging in the Indian insurance sector. With the opening up of the economy, several international leaders in the insurance sector are trying to venture into the Indian insurance industry