A Year Of Hope With A Twist For Insurers

CHENNAI: The year 2014 was of renewed hope with a twist for private insurers with the new central government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deciding to go ahead with allowing 49 percent foreign capital in the sector.

The twist is the pre-condition that the private insurers should be Indian-owned and controlled entities.

A select committee of the Rajya Sabha led by BJP member Chandan Mitra has recommended so.

There are 24 life and 28 non-life companies in India and several of them are run by the foreign promoters with just 26 percent.

Apart from that, the central government's proposed motor vehicles law, when enacted, would benefit non-life insurers as there will be safer vehicles, drivers and roads.

"It was a year of legislative and regulatory action. Though the two major bills - Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill and the Road Transport and Safety Bill - have not been passed, the steps taken are in the right direction," General Insurance Council of India general secretary R. Chandrasekaran told IANS.

He said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) also issued an advisory on adequate pricing of property and group health insurance policies.

The Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) is expected to come out with benchmark rates based on industry data.

The year saw an upward revision of motor insurance premium and IRDA licensing Health Insurance TPA of India - the common claims processing agency for the four government owned non-life insurers.

Meanwhile, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a probe by its director general against General Insurers' (Public Sector) Association of India (GIPSA) and other public sector non-life insurers for alleged anti-competitive practices.

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