Regulator Irdai on Friday directed SBI Life Insurance Company to takeover the policy liabilities of around two lakh policies along with assets of Sahara India Life Insurance Co Ltd (SILIC) with immediate effect. The decision was taken at the meeting of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) in view of deteriorating financial health of the SILIC. "The Authority has identified SBI Life Insurance Company Limited (SBI Life), which is one of the largest life insurers in the country with satisfactory financials, as the acquirer insurer of the life insurance business of SlLIC.
The All India Insurance Employees' Association has opposed the government directive seeking to open up top posts in the state-owned insurers to the private sector, saying this would lead to greater private influence and "eventual privatisation".
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
To handle the sudden loss of cashless facility, patients should maintain an emergency fund or a short-term credit line to manage all or part of hospitalisation costs.
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
Irdai on Friday extended the 'use and file' procedure for the most of the life insurance products, thereby allowing insurers to launch new products without prior approval of the regulator. This comes days after Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) extending similar relaxations to health insurance products as well as general insurance covers. In a press release, Irdai said that in its continuous endeavour towards the reform agenda taken up towards having a fully insured India, it has extended the 'use and file' procedure for most of the life insurance products.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
'The government is putting insurance in the same category as food, which is essential for life.' 'Now this is an opportunity for the sector to focus on the consumer.'
'$125 million for the hull and the remaining of over $350 million for liability.'
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
New India Assurance and Niva Bupa have invested in the Bima Sugam India Federation.
Insurance companies are processing a surge of claims related to the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, including travel, personal accident, and life insurance claims.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'Investment by insurers in the Bima Sugam India Federation is illegal as it is a private limited company.'
'The kind of reach it has with so many bank branches even in the remotest part of the country, it is one channel which will play a very important role in vision of insurance for all.'
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (Irdai's) decision to allow insurers to hedge risks through equity derivatives will help them manage market volatility and protect policyholder returns. However, this move is unlikely to alter their investment strategies.
The life and non-life insurance industries are hopeful of a reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) on health and life insurance premiums, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech on Friday, announced GST relaxations aimed at providing relief to ordinary citizens, farmers, the middle class, and the small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
In Debasish Panda's last board meeting as chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), the regulator approved the "R2" licence for Kamlesh Goyal and Prem Watsa-backed Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector Indian reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer. "The authority reviewed and approved the R2 application of Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) reported encouraging results for the April-June quarter (Q1) of FY26. The net premium income of India's largest life insurer was Rs 1.2 trillion, up 5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), in Q1. Renewal premium grew 6 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 59,900 crore, while first-year and single premium grew 1 per cent and 4 per cent Y-o-Y respectively to Rs 7,500 crore and Rs 51,900 crore.
According to IRDAI, Marsh India had held the premium received from the clients in an Insurance Bank Account for more than 15 days and did not remit the premium to the insurer/reinsurer within the time limit of 15 days.
Understand policy inclusions and exclusions to avoid surprises during claims.
These plans are suited for individuals and families with regular OPD needs -- those managing chronic illnesses and families with young children or elderly members.
There have been some cases where the entire family has perished or both spouses died in the crash, which are making the claims process particularly complex.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is considering a proposal to make insurance frauds a parameter for calculating credit scores in an attempt to put a lid on the increase in such activity. The proposal, which is a part of the recommendations made by a working group formed by Irdai and the General Insurance Council, suggests that insurance frauds should feature when the risk profiles of individuals are evaluated and should be used to calculate their credit scores. A poor credit score can deprive a person of financial services such as loans and credit cards, and deter him from indulging in fraud.
The insurance companies will use "green, orange, and red" colours to indicate the complexity of the products that are on offer.
Health insurance claims are often denied due to exclusions in policy terms. Buyers frequently overlook the fine print or misinterpret clauses.
General, life insurers with 8 & 10 yrs in biz, respectively, may have to list
State-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday posted a 38 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 19,013 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2025 helped by lower expenses. The country's biggest insurer had earned a profit of Rs 13,763 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
'Some of the astounding proposals, if translated into statutory provisions, would be suicidal.' 'This would not be a wonder cure for increasing insurance penetration and only result in mushrooming growth of players like paan kiosks with deleterious consequences.'
The product, named Saral Suraksha Bima, will have a maximum sum assured of Rs 1 crore and minimum Rs 2.5 lakh.
India currently performs around 6,00,000 to 7,00,000 laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (Lasik) and refractive procedures a year, and the uptake is accelerating.
'India has not faced a major terrorism loss since the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.'
The four public sector general insurance companies -- New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and National Insurance Company -- have lost 800 basis points (bps) in market share in last five years to their private counterparts, the data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) revealed. In 2018-19, the four had a cumulative market share of 40.04 per cent, with New India Assurance having a market share of 14 per cent and United India Insurance with a market share of 9.63 per cent. But, gradually in the past five years, these state-backed firms have lost their market share to private sector players, due to the declining health of their business.
Will allowing business correspondents to hawk insurance products help in reviving 5-lakh strong field agents as a viable channel?
