Page 23 - Insurance

Insurance repositories may see muted business in initial phases of digitisation

This is because insurers aren't required to tie-up with them to issue e-policies

Action picks up in insurance sector

Foreign investment; mergers and acquisitions (M&As), and the listing of companies likely to drive growth in sector, say experts

Insurance consolidation

Too many small players help nobody

E-insurance mandatory for Rs 10,000 or above annual premium in life insurance: Irdai

New norms from October 1; sales to be made using e-proposal form similar to physical form approved by regulator

Insurers use non-traditional means to engage customers, employees

SBI Life is trying to bring out the basic concept of father protecting his child from the uncertainties of life

Consolidation era set to begin in insurance sector

Insurance sector currently has 24 life insurance companies and 29 general insurance companies

Panel set up on risk-based capital norms in insurance

Insurers say India isn't ready from an accounting perspective for solvency these norms, which are to insurers, what Basel-III is to banks

IRDAI to meet to accord approval to foreign reinsurers

Regulator has received six applications by foreign reinsurance majors for permit of direct business

Industry lauds insurance e-commerce draft policy

A number of insurance companies are now examining the e-commerce selling and servicing front

Lloyd's to set up India reinsurance branch in 2017

John Nelson, Chairman of Lloyd's, said that they intend to begin small in India and would start off with a few syndicates and managing agents

Insurance via e-commerce to make insurance cheaper for customers

This will be done through a self-network platform

On a free fall

HDFC Ergo General Insurance, the insurance arm of mortgage lender HDFC, has acquired L&T General Insurance for Rs 551 crore, the first such consolidation in India's crowded general insurance sector.The country's insurance market which currently has 29 players in the general insurance space and 24 players in the life insurance space has seen continuous activity with respect to stake sale deals, there have also been cases of complete exit of one partner in the joint venture.Business Standard gives you a snapshot of similar such deals in the past:July 2012 Tata AIG rechristened as TATA AIA following exit of American International Group (AIG) from Hong Kong-based insurer AIA GroupJanuary 2013 Exide Industries decides to acquire 50 per cent remaining stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance for Rs 550 crore. Post this, ING exits ventureMarch 2013 Pantaloon Retail enters into agreement with Industrial Investment Trust Limited (IITL) to sell 22.5 per cent of its stake in Future General India Lif

Heavy discounts in insurance to come under scanner

Regulator has now come up with new set of norms for maintaining solvency ratio by insurance companies based on each line of business

Go by performance, not only insurance premium

To minimise the chance of disappointment, look at other parameters like persistency ratio, speed of claim settlement and other crucial factors

Coverfox.com launches doorstep claims assistance program in Mumbai

Launches Express Claims Service as it looks to ensure timely & professional claims support

Insurers now offer value-added services, assistance

Reliance General Insurance is now offering specialised services to the home insurance customers

Over-the-counter product norms for insurance soon

Once the norms are approved, insurance companies will be able to sell simple products without lengthy forms or documentation

Get the right cover when travelling abroad

Read the fine print carefully because even a policy with a high sum assured may have sub-limits

The distribution gridlock

Regulator facilitates more insurance channels, but sales incentives need to be improved

Premiums rising, not policies

The insurance industry's actual growth is not only measured by new business premiums in life insurance, but also by the number of new policy sales that have happened in a particular period. While overall the industry has seen a healthy growth in new premiums, new policy numbers have remained flat.Among private life insurers, at least 10 companies had reported a decline in the number of policies. Some saw a decline of as high as 30 per cent while their new premium collections were on the rise. Industry experts said that while the size of the covers have seen a rise leading to new premium collection growth, the number of new policies being sold haven't gone up dramatically.During the last financial year too, insurers had ended the year with a steep 37 per cent drop in the number of new policies. Here, both public sector and private sector insurers saw a decline in the number of policies. This was primarily due to the fact that a new traditional product regime had led to product refiling