List of all Insurance Companies in India

List of all Insurance Companies in India

Insurance industry, earlier comprised of only two state insurers.

Life Insurers ie Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurers ie General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) GIC had four subsidary companies.

With effect from Dec'2000, these subsidaries have been de-linked from parent company and made as an independent insurance companies. Oriental Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited.

The first batch of licenses were issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in 2001. As on December 2009 following are the players in the Indian Market:

The total number of life insurers registered with the Authority has gone up to 23. While, the total number of general insurers registered with IRDA is also now 23.

LIFE INSURERS IN INDIA

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited
Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd
ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Life Insurance Corporation of India
Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Met Life India Insurance Company Ltd.
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited
SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited
Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited.
Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited
Sahara India Life Insurance Co, Ltd.
Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited
IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Aegon Religare Life Insurance Company Limited
DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited
Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Company Limited

REINSURERS IN INDIA:

GENERAL INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA.

Insurance Regulators

Regulators

Insurance is a federal subject in India. The primary legislation that deals with insurance business in India is: Insurance Act, 1938, and Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority Act, 1999.


Insurance Industry has ombudsmen in 12 cities. Each ombudsmen is empowered to redress customer grievances in respect of insurance contracts on personal lines where the insured amount is less than Rs. 20 lakhs, in accordance with the Ombudsmen Scheme.

Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA)

IRDA was constituted by an act of parliament. The Authority is a ten member team consisting of:

(a) a Chairman
(b) five whole-time members
(c) four part-time members


(1) Subject to the provisions of Section 14 of IRDA Act, 1999 and any other law for the time being in force, the Authority shall have the duty to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance business and re-insurance business.


(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in sub-section (1), the powers and functions of the Authority shall include, -

(a) issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, renew, modify, withdraw, suspend or cancel such registration;


(b) protection of the interests of the policy holders in matters concerning assigning of policy, nomination by policy holders, insurable interest, settlement of insurance claim, surrender value of policy and other terms and conditions of contracts of insurance;


(c) specifying requisite qualifications, code of conduct and practical training for intermediary or insurance intermediaries and agents;


(d) specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors;


(e) promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business;


(f) promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance business;


(g) levying fees and other charges for carrying out the purposes of this Act;


(h) calling for information from, undertaking inspection of, conducting enquiries and investigations including audit of the insurers, intermediaries, insurance intermediaries and other organisations connected with the insurance business;


(i) control and regulation of the rates, advantages, terms and conditions that may be offered by insurers in respect of general insurance business not so controlled and regulated by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938);


(j) specifying the form and manner in which books of account shall be maintained and statement of accounts shall be rendered by insurers and other insurance intermediaries;


(k) regulating investment of funds by insurance companies;


(l) regulating maintenance of margin of solvency;


(m) adjudication of disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries;


(n) supervising the functioning of the Tariff Advisory Committee; (o) specifying the percentage of premium income of the insurer to finance schemes for promoting and regulating professional organisations referred to in clause (f);

(p) specifying the percentage of life insurance business and general insurance business to be undertaken by the insurer in the rural or social sector; and


(q) exercising such other powers as may be prescribed

Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC)
(Statutory Body under Insurance Act 1938)


Tariff Advisory Committee controls and regulates the rates, advantages, terms and conditions that may be offered by insurers in respect of General Insurance Business relating to Fire, Marine (Hull), Motor, Engg. and Workmen Compensation.


Effective 22/07/98,the TAC Board has been reconstituted with seven members representing the present General Insurance Industry and eight members from government and Industry.


The Controller of Insurance cum Chairman IRDA is the Chairman of TAC.

Bancassurance: emerging trends, opportunities and challenges

Bancassurance: emerging trends, opportunities and challenges

According to a recent sigma study, bancassurance is on the rise, particularly in emerging markets. Worldwide, insurers have been successfully leveraging bancassurance to gain a foothold in markets with low insurance penetration and a limited variety of distribution channels.


Bancassurance, the provision of insurance services by banks, is an established and growing channel for insurance distribution, though its penetration varies across different markets. Europe has the highest bancassurance penetration rate. In contrast, penetration is lower in North America, partly reflecting regulatory restrictions. In Asia, however, bancassurance is gaining in popularity, particularly in China, where restrictions have been eased. The research shows that social and cultural factors, as well as regulatory considerations and product complexity, play a significant role in determining how successful bancassurance is in a particular market.


The outlook for bancassurance remains positive. While development in individual markets will continue to depend heavily on each country’s regulatory and business environment, bancassurers could profit from the tendency of governments to privatise health care and pension liabilities. In emerging markets, new entrants have successfully employed bancassurance to compete with incumbent companies. Given the current relatively low bancassurance penetration in emerging markets, bancassurance will likely see further significant development in the coming years.


Emerging Trends

Though bancassurance has traditionally targeted the mass market, bancassurers have begun to finely segment the market, which has resulted in tailor-made products for each segment. The quest for additional growth and the desire to market to specific client segments has in turn led some bancassurers to shift away from using a standardised, single channel sales approach to adopting a multiple channel distribution strategy. Some bancassurers are also beginning to focus exclusively on distribution.


In some markets, face-to-face contact is preferred, which tends to favour bancassurance development. Nevertheless, banks are starting to embrace direct marketing and Internet banking as tools to distribute insurance products. New and emerging channels are becoming increasingly competitive, due to the tangible cost benefits embedded in product pricing or through the appeal of convenience and innovation.


Finally, the marketing of more complex products has also gained ground in some countries, alongside a more dedicated focus on niche client segments and the distribution of non-life products. The drive for product diversification arises as bancassurers realise that over-reliance on certain products may lead to undue volatility in business income. Nevertheless, bancassurers have shown a willingness to expand their product range to include products beyond those related to bank products.


Strategic Challenges

These developments are expected to challenge traditional bancassurers in the following ways:

The shift away from manufacturing to pure distribution requires banks to better align the incentives of different suppliers with their own.

Increasing sales of non-life products, to the extent those risks are retained by the banks, require sophisticated products and risk management.

The sale of non-life products should be weighted against the higher cost of servicing those policies.

Banks will have to be prepared for possible disruptions to client relations arising from more frequent non-life insurance claims.

Bancassurance

Bancassurance

Bancassurance symbolises the convergence of banking and insurance. The term has its origins in France and involves distribution of insurance products through a bank's branch network. While bancassurance has developed into a tremendous success story in Europe, it is a relatively new concept in Australia and Asia.

Most new insurers have entered into memoranda of understanding with banks to use their branches as outlets for marketing standard products. State Bank of India, Vysya Bank and J&K Bank already have joint ventures in life insurance. Vijaya Bank and Punjab National Bank are in the midst of finalising life and non-life ventures.

The Insurance Act allows only those companies registered under the Companies Act to become corporate agents. This gives the new generation and old private sector banks a head start over Public sector banks , which are technically not eligible to sell risk products.

IRDA, IBA & RBI are in discussions to iron out the various issues, as public sector banks will play a key role in the distribution of products.

Insurance Overview

An Overview

Insurance business is divided into four classes :

1) Life Insurance business
2) Fire
3) Marine
4) Miscellaneous Insurance.

Life Insurers transact life insurance business; the rest is transacted by General Insurers. No composites are permitted as per law.

The business of Insurance essentially means defraying risks attached to any activity over time (including life) and sharing the risks between various entities, both persons and organisations. Insurance companies (ICs) are important players in financial markets as they collect and invest large amounts of premium. Insurance products are multi purpose and offer the following benefits :

1. Protection to the investors
2. Accumulate savings
3. Channelise savings into sectors needing huge long term investments.

ICs receive, without much default, a steady cash stream of premium or contributions to pension plans. Various actuary studies and models enable them to predict, relatively accurately, their expected cash outflows. Liabilities of ICs being long-term or contingent in nature, liquidity is excellent and their investments are also long-term in nature. Since they offer more than the return on savings in the shape of life-cover to the investors, the rate of return guaranteed in their insurance policies is relatively low.

Consequently, the need to seek high rates of returns on their investments is also low. The risk-return trade off is heavily tilted in favour of risk. As a combined result of all this, investments of insurance companies have been largely in bonds floated by GOI, PSUs, state governments, local bodies, corporate bodies and mortgages of long term nature. The last place where Insurance companies are expected to be over-active is bourses.


Lately ICs have ventured into pension schemes and mutual funds also. However, life insurance, constitutes the major share of insurance business. Life Insurance depends upon the laws of mortality and there lies the difference between life and general insurance businesses. Life has to extinguish sooner or later and the claim in respect of life is certain. In case of general insurance, however, there may never be a claim and the amount can never be ascertained in advance. Hence, Life Insurance includes, besides covering the risk of early happening of an event, an element of savings also for the beneficiaries.

Pension business also derives from life insurance in as much as the pension outgo again depends upon the laws of mortality. The forays made by insurance companies in this area are, therefore, natural corollary of their business.