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.
The rise in premiums could be in the range of 5-25 per cent, depending on the features that each insurance company adds on its products. Insurance firms have been given time till September 30 to include modifications mandated by the regulator.
Unlike any other national asset, which is typically sold to the highest bidder, the profile of the bidder is the most important criterion for a licence to bank, and even for acquiring more than 5 per cent stake, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The move would help insurance firms to get much needed capital from overseas partners.
Since no insurance companies share data on their claims with each other, the finance ministry and Irdai suspect that a lot of the resultant claims are duplicates.
The Reserve Bank said overseas investors, including FPIs and NRIs, can invest up to 26 per cent in insurance and allied activities through the automatic route.
The pre-Budget proposals sent to the finance ministry aim to bring uniformity in tax treatment for investments in different financial sectors, mitigate hardship to retail taxpayers, and encourage participation in mutual funds.
'It is advisable to invest in them early in life and stay invested for a longer period to achieve long-term goals and accumulate wealth.'
India has received nearly Rs 30,000 crore worth of FDI in the private sector insurance firms since 2015, when the government had increased FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. Investment under the automatic route does not require prior approval from the government.
The Gujarat International Finance Tech-City, or Gift City, is expected to be spread over 886 acres and will have a special economic zone on 261 acres.
Vehicles are depreciating assets and lose their value over time.
Mergers and acquisitions would continue to create big corporate conglomerates but there is a need to draw a red line to avoid dominance and curbing of open competition in market by them, he said while addressing a conference on competition issues in New Delhi.
The Ola Money and Uber tie-ups demonstrate how insurance companies, including even government-run ones, are forging partnerships with every possible service company to offer products.
Only 29 per cent of the adolescents surveyed could identify depression as a medical condition, says Pankaj Gupta.
'Online aggregators offer discounts of 70% to 75%.' 'At a car dealership, the discount is usually in the range of 30% to 35%.'
The proposal has been discussed by Sebi's Committee on Rationalisation of Financial Resources, which favours setting up such a fund.
Sources said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's vigilance department was looking into these complaints and had carried out inspections in this regard.
Advait Rao Palepu reports how a recent Supreme Court order will impact motor vehicles insurance policies.
'GIFT City is now on a growth trajectory,' says Tapan Ray, MD and group CEO, GIFT City, 'The time has come for the GIFT City to take the big leap and emerge as the next financial hub of Asia.'
Though COVID-19 will wreak more damage to the finances of the Indian population, the insurance sector is unlikely to get hurt.
Sebi has approved the norms for financial institutions setting up shop at GIF City in Ahmedabad.
Insurance sector to get lot of foreign investment: Jaitley.
Following his resignation, the Finance Ministry has appointed Joint Secretary Anup Wadhawan as Chairman of the PFRDA.
The revival initiative allows RLIC policyholders to renew their lapsed policies by simply paying their due premium -- without any penalty or medical tests.
Currently, the Department of Agriculture runs two crop insurance schemes, one of which is weather-based.
All costs relating to room, boarding, nursing expenses, medical consultation including telemedicine, consumables such as PPE kits and intensive care unit will be covered under the policy. It will also include the cost of treatment for any other co-morbidities, including pre-existing comorbid conditions along with the treatment for Covid-19.
The pool was formed by non-life insurance cos in India in Apr '02.
Irdai to allow 12 minor changes including expansion of critical illness and day care procedure lists, premium payment in instalments, change sum assured, etc.
Insurers say they will have to study the available data to work out by how much premiums will have to go up to be able to cover mental illnesses as well
According to preliminary information memorandum, Air India's new owner will be asked to list the company in some time
For the near term, Gill will have to improve relations with the Reserve Bank of India, which have been strained in recent times. He will also need to strengthen the bank's asset quality and improve governance standards and internal processes.
Insurance of vehicle, including cars and bikes, will become costlier from April 1 as insurance regulator Irdai has decided to increase premiums by up to 40 per cent from the next fiscal.
Till June-end alone, insurance regulator is expected to bring about more than half a dozen reforms that will have a significant impact on the customer.
The Centre is likely to cut budgetary support to the railways by around Rs 5,000-10,000 crore for 2018-19, out of the total budgeted GBS of Rs 53,060 crore. Due to this cut in GBS, the railways is likely to depend more on borrowings, asset monetisation, and internal generation to meet the capex target of Rs 1.465 trillion for the current year.
India needs to follow countries such as Singapore who have and are further bolstering their cyber security apparatus.
The 21st meeting of FSDC comes against the backdrop of the economy hitting a six-year low growth rate of 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20. Even some of the macroeconomic data for the second quarter does not portray an encouraging picture of the economy.
The loss to policyholders due to massive mis-selling of insurance policies by trusted private sector and public sector banks will be well in excess of Rs 2 trillion, warns Harsh Roongta.
Unlike other health insurance policies, which mostly covers hospitalisation expenses alone, the specialised cover is likely to include the cost of treatment during quarantine and payment of cash for incidental expenses.
Navratri and Onam saw flat sales, but industry hopes to turn the corner with a cracker of a Diwali.
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