India's financial sector is dominated by large government-owned and private-sector banks.
'As on August 25, 94,753 Govindas have been insured.' 'This number is expected to rise further, as proposals for 5,000 to 8,000 Govindas are received daily.'
The judgment from a five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, offers clarity on licensing regulations and is expected to prevent insurance companies from rejecting claims based on the type of licence of drivers involved in accidents.
Self-employed individuals often face hurdles in buying term insurance due to financial documentation that doesn't fully reflect their earnings. This complicates underwriting.
'Accidents are unpredictable, whether it's a mishap during Diwali, a fracture during travel, or a fall in the bathroom.'
Insurance companies reported nearly 23 per cent growth in first year premium in the first quarter of financial year 2024-25, when compared to the same period last year, with market leader LIC leading the charge with 28 per cent growth. According to the data released by the Life Insurance Council, the new business premium (NBP) increased by 22.91 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ~89,726.7 crore in Q1FY25 from ~73,004.87 crore in Q1 FY24, reflecting a robust demand for insurance policies in the country.
Core retail segments like motor and health continue to report strong growth of 19-20 per cent with competitive intensity still visible in the motor OD (owner driven) segment. Commercial lines reported muted growth. Group health remains a key driver. Among the listed companies, ICICI Lombard continues to trail in the motor section while Star Health has lost its Y-o-Y retail market share although its better on a sequential basis.
It is essential to have a comprehensive motor policy, and not just a third-party cover, as the latter does not protect your own vehicle.
'It's better to be over-insured than underinsured.' 'Ensure your home insurance includes STFI (storm, tempest, flooding, and inundation) cover for protection against monsoon rains.'
Private life insurers experienced reasonable growth in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), and the October data is also encouraging. The individual weighted received premium (WRP) for private players grew by 19.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in October. However, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had slower growth, pulling the industry growth rate down to 13 per cent Y-o-Y.
We are, therefore, setting up more branches in more tertiary terms, like tier 2 and tier 3 terms. Going forward, that is where the growth will come.
A rider is a supplementary cover which can be purchased with the base policy by paying an additional premium.
The insurance regulator's move to prod insurance companies to sell health products to all age groups, including those above 65, is aimed at increasing penetration though there would be challenges on pricing due to higher risk perception, experts said. While there was no regulatory cap on age for health insurance policies, most companies had an internal policy which did not allow them to sell health insurance products to persons over 65.
Health insurance policy-holders will be able to avail a discount on the premium payable if there were no claims made in the previous year, according to the circular released by the regulator.
The average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased by nearly 48 per cent over 6 years due to elevated medical inflation and increased demand for higher coverage policies among policyholders. According to data by online insurance broker PolicyBazaar, the average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased to Rs 26,533 so far in FY24, up 48.22 per cent from Rs 17,900 in FY19.
Yet another first week of December brought familiar scenes of rain, storm, flooding, power outages, and fallen trees. When Cyclone Michaung wreaked havoc, leading to the heaviest rainfall in 47 years in the city, residents of Chennai drew parallels to the devastating floods of 2015. However, initial data on insurance claims suggests that the impact this time may portray a more optimistic scenario.
The mutual fund (MF) industry has seen a fair number of new entrants in the last 10 years but none of them have proved to be much of a challenge for the larger players. The list of top 20 fund houses, which manage over 90 per cent of the industry's total assets, continues to be dominated by players who have been in the business for more than a decade. Bajaj Finserv MF may change that, say experts.
Over 2,471 people joined Anil Kapoor to create a new Guinness World Record by holding the abdominal plank position for 60 seconds.
Group term insurance is far more cost-effective than an individual cover.
The share of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in monthly new business premium (NBP) in the life insurance sector declined to 58.50 per cent in September 2023 from 68.25 per cent in September 2022 -- a drop of 975 basis points -- owing to shortcomings in the product and distribution side of business. However, the market share saw a marginal uptick from the 57.37 per cent recorded in August this year. According to the monthly business data released for September 2023 by the Life Insurance Council, the NBP of LIC up to September 2023 stood at Rs 92,462.62 crore as compared to about Rs 1.25 trillion in the same period a year ago.
If your flight is cancelled or delayed or you miss one, a travel insurance policy can cover the costs at such times and help you book a new one.
Following are comments from economists at leading financial institutions, banks and rating agencies on the interim Budget:
High-value insurance policies experienced muted growth in the first six months of the current financial year after the Centre decided to tax such products in this year's Budget. Simultaneously, there has been a marked improvement in the growth of policies with premiums of 'less than Rs 5 lakh', mainly originating from smaller cities. During this year's Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed that insurance policies (excluding unit linked insurance plans or ULIPs) with an aggregate premium exceeding Rs 5 lakh, and the maturity amount, would not be exempt from tax.
Cyber insurance policies cover ransomware attacks and the ensuing damages, including ransom payments, data restoration costs, forensic and other first-party costs, and loss of profit due to business interruption.
'Check every SMS you get. Many people ignore them.' 'Remember if there is an activity in your account, your financial institution will send you an SMS, not a WhatsApp message.'
General insurance companies are likely to see a surge in demand for health insurance in the coming months due to falling air quality in the country. The health insurance segment has registered a strong growth after the pandemic due to higher awareness. In the first half of financial year 2023-24, the segment grew by 24.4 per cent to Rs 54,713.52 crore from Rs 43,981.54 crore in H1FY23, driving growth of the non-life insurance industry.
In a memorable year for the equity market, Dalal Street investors added a whopping Rs 81.90 lakh crore to their wealth in 2023 as a raft of positive factors powered a stellar rally in stocks. Experts said India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, political stability owing to the BJP's success in recent elections in three significant states, optimistic corporate earnings outlook, signals from the US Federal Reserve about three prospective rate cuts next year and heavy retail investors participation played a major role in fuelling the stock market rally in 2023. In the year 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent.
Army chief visits LoC. VP meets his successor. PM meets baddy legend. Kapil Dev breaks another record. CWG Champs come home...It's all about People, folks!
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
'If something unfortunate happens to an earning member, the family loses the crucial income which would have gone towards paying off debts, meeting the cost of children's higher education, or towards the upkeep of elderly parents.'
Sanjib Jha, CEO, Coverfox Insurance Broking, answers your health and auto insurance related queries.
'Even where we are now today, the growth rates are very good, but we need to get to 8-9 per cent growth in the years to come.'
Market-linked products have been driving the growth of private insurers for some time now. But, the market volatility has forced the companies to re-think their strategies, reports Subrata Panda.
Visa and 20 insurance companies in India have joined forces to make paying life and general insurance premiums "faster and easier" through a range of new payment options for Visa cardholders
Only a small percentage of passengers who traveled on the trains involved in the June 2, 2023 accident in Odisha had availed of travel accident insurance while booking their tickets online on the IRCTC portal.
SKS Microfinance, one of the country's leading microfinance companies, has extended life insurance cover to about one million poor women in India in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
In order for life insurance customers to attain maximum benefits, it is crucial for the persistency ratio to be far higher than its current level, top executives of the industry said at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit on Thursday. The persistency ratio is a metric that measures the number of policyholders who continue paying renewal premium and is gauged at varying stages in the life of a policy. A higher persistency ratio is seen as an indicator of an insurance product that caters satisfactorily to the needs of a customer.
Such products in insurance parlance are called acturial-funded products. The ban would require Aviva Life Insurance to withdraw all its 14 ULIP products, while Bajaj Allianz one of its ULIPs called Capital Unit Gain.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2023, insurers are hoping that the Centre will act on their recommendations, which includes increasing the limit for tax deduction under 80D of the Income Tax Act. Also among them are issuance of long-term bonds, tax incentives for home insurance premiums, and a separate section to claim deduction for term-insurance premium, among others. These suggestions would help improve the penetration of insurance in the country.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank's initial public offering attracted heavy investor demand on the final day of bidding on Wednesday as the issue was subscribed a whopping 126.36 times.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances