Page 29 - Insurance Times June 2021

merely insuring motor vehicles moving around rural locations Responsibility as mandatory provision put up by the
is being misrepresented by private insurers for achieving government.
their business targets, set for servicing rural sector by the
regulator. Now the time has come, that insurance sector in India
needs to be recognized as an industry, so as to fulfill its social
Even insurance regulator in India too has failed to create objective and deliver the real benefit of insurance to its
much needed insurance awareness among the masses and public rather than to restrict it as a profit making source.
so is the prime objective of government of the day. Recent Even under present scenario, insurance in reality, be it life
cyclone catastrophe, depriving the poor masses from the or non life, is so alien in rural India, that one still hear the
real benefit of insurance facility, serve as an eye opener versions like "Scooter ka LIC karna hai". Operational network
for the government and the insurance regulator. Authorities of the operators, specifically active manpower equipped with
need to reactivate their existing policies, in order to updated infrastructure deep in to rural and under developed
forcefully implement the penetration of insurance service pockets, need to be strengthened making them time bound
down to actual India. By concentrating on about Rupees accountable to achieve the set objectives, that should be
fifty thousand crore direct tax and GST revenue generating monitored at brief intervals in order to make it an
industry, government can no longer linger on the fulfillment immediate reality. Due representation to rural youth need
of social obligations by the insurance sector, that is also to be given not only to address the problem of developing
affecting our socio economic growth. It will be appropriate rural insurance portfolio by making it a successful massive
for the operators to expand insurance services rather than public participation employment generation programme but
to encourage their spending under Corporate Social also to address their socio economic development need. T

General insurance industry in India to reach US$36.4bn in 2024

The general insurance industry in India is projected to grow from INR1.9 trillion (US$27.7bn) in 2019 to INR2.9 trillion
(US$36.4 bn) in 2024, in terms of gross written premium (GWP), according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics
company. GlobalData has revised India's insurance forecast in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. As per the
latest data, Indian general insurance industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7%
over FY2019-2024, driven by economic recovery expected over the second half of 2021.
Deblina Mitra, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has maintained the
country's GDP estimates at 10.5% for FY2022 despite the second wave of COVID-19 spread. Improvement in domestic
demand and increased investment activity is expected to aid in the economic recovery."
Motor insurance, which accounted for one-third of general insurance business in 2019, is expected to grow by 4.7%
in 2021. The current decline in auto sales due to the re-imposition of lockdown at the federal level is expected to be
short-lived. With pick-up in vaccination drive, economy is expected to recover over the second half of the year. This
will restore demand for auto sales and motor insurance.
Property insurance, which accounted for 28% of general insurance business in 2019, is expected to grow by 10% in
2021, primarily driven by price increase. In 2020, fire insurance premiums were increased by up to 25% after GIC Re
increased reinsurance rates. According to GlobalData's Global Insurance Database, personal accident and health (PA&H)
insurance, which accounted for 29% of general insurance premium in 2019, is expected to remain strong and grow at
a CAGR of 14.2% over the next five years.
Increased health awareness and demand for COVID-19 specific insurance products contributed to its strong retail
sales last year. Additionally, the extension of 'sale and renewal' of COVID-19 specific health insurance products until
September 2021 and the launch of standard personal accident insurance 'SaralSurakshaBima' from 1 April 2021 are
other positive developments that will further contribute to the demand for PA&H insurance.
Ms Mitra concludes: "The second wave of COVID-19 has dampened the recovery momentum in general insurance
business. However, its impact is expected to be short-term as vaccine roll-out picks up pace in the second half of 2021.
As a result, general insurance business is anticipated to recover strongly in 2021."

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