General, life insurers with 8 & 10 yrs in biz, respectively, may have to list
Berkshire India will soon start selling life insurance products as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.
Private insurance firms say, over the past few years, they have been investing on digital technologies to reach semi urban and rural areas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Life insurers need applicants to abstain from tobacco for up to five years.
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.
The revenue growth of 14-15 per cent was seen across the broad market, but due to margin pressure, earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) were flat or lower than estimates. Hence, the markets may remain range-bound in the short-term.
The revenue growth of 14-15 per cent was seen across the broad market, but due to margin pressure, earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) were flat or lower than estimates. Hence, the markets may remain range-bound in the short-term.
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.
Leading private life insurers HDFC Standard Life, Bajaj Allianz and Birla Sun Life top the list of firms against whom consumers have filed complaints with sectoral regulator Irda for indulging in unfair business practices.
You are charged the same premium and also enjoy continuity benefits
Life insurers, on the prodding of global reinsurers, are set to hike premiums on term plans because rising mortality after the second wave of the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of settlements. Some will do so next month while others may wait till January. Global reinsurer Munich Re had nudged its insurance partners on the hike in September and insurers have been engaged in negotiations with the reinsurer on the amount of the increase. Term plan prices in India were among the lowest in the world for a long period but in the past couple of years, they have been increased a few times.
The online channel has only been successful in making inroads in metro cities.
Group term insurance is far more cost-effective than an individual cover.
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.
'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.'
Twenty years after India's insurance sector was opened up, unshackling the control of state-owned companies, as many as 50 private players have set up shop. Along with their foreign partners, private players have brought about a sea change in the product offering, distribution and underwriting processes, and services levels. Yet, India's insurance penetration needle has not moved much.
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.
Maternity expenses can be high, with the costs covering everything from prenatal visits to the hospital delivery charges and post-natal care but choosing the right maternity cover can help overcome these issues, says Bhaskar Nerurkar
2.75 million of the 3 million Covid-related health claims were settled.
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.
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.
Critical illness policies by life insurance companies provide a variety of combinations but have a complex fine print.
These products are extremely transparent and are the lowest charged products in the insurance space. The policyholder has to only pay the fund management charge. Hence, from the cost side, ULIPs are very competitive.
Motor insurance claims will also come in, due to the extensive damage to vehicles.
Warren Buffett will meet with individuals that have bought insurance policies through his Indian venture Berkshireinsurance.com.
Insurance companies are seeking a separate deduction limit of Rs 1 lakh for insurance premium payment under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act in the upcoming Union Budget to bring in more people under the ambit of insurance. The insurers also want reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rate of 18 per cent currently applied on health insurance products to 5 per cent to make such products more affordable to common people. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2022-23 on February 1.
Through this online facility, these business communities can generate marine policies, manage them online and speed up documentation procedures in case of an emergency.
Good performance of ICICI Lombard, New India, Oriental Insurance and Bajaj Allianz pushed the general insurance industry growth to 16 per cent in April-February of 2005-06.
Maternity coverage is a specific feature in health insurance policies that covers the medical expenses associated with childbirth and complications associated, if any.
This recognition is a testimony of India's strong belief in promoting entrepreneurship
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's Reliance General Insurance has become the second largest non-life private insurer, toppling Bajaj Allianz, in terms of premium collections of Rs 221 crore (Rs 2.21 billion) in April.
With Covid-19 cases across the country rising rapidly once again, demand for health insurance products has spiked. Insurers are seeing an uptick in inquiries for such products and underwriting more premiums in the segment. Already, health insurance was growing at a rapid pace since the onset of the pandemic as awareness around risk had heightened among consumers. But the country recorded more than 600,000 Covid-19 cases in the past week, which is almost a six-fold rise than the previous week. Owing to this, the spike in demand for health insurance products is inevitable, experts said.
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