Page 22 - Life Insurance Today March 2016

However, the guest will not get monetary compensation
With largest number of life insurance policies in force in
the world, Insurance happens to be a mega opportunity
in India. It's a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per
cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs 450
billion. Together with banking services, it adds about 7 per
cent to the country's GDP. Gross premium collection is
nearly 2 per cent of GDP and funds available with LIC for
investments are 8 per cent of GDP. Yet, nearly 80 per cent
of Indian population is without life insurance cover while
health insurance and non-life insurance continues to be
below international standards. And this part of the
population is also subject to weak social security and
pension systems with hardly any old age income security.
This itself is an indicator that growth potential for the
insurance sector is immense. A well-developed and
evolved insurance sector is needed for economic
development as it provides long term funds for
infrastructure development and at the same time
strengthens the risk taking ability. The Insurance sector, to
some extent, can enable investments in infrastructure
development to sustain economic growth of the country.
Selling big time:
The Indian Travel insurance market worth approximately
Rs 240 crore. Around 60% of travel insurance policies
provide cover for `terrorism' but schemes may vary. For
example, in cases like the Paris attack, the insurance
company will step in to offer the entire medical expense
of an Indian guest. They will also pay for flight tickets back
home on completion of the treatment.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
22 March 2016
in case of partial, permanent disablement or death as
those come under liability covers where the guest will
have to file a claim with the government of that country
to claim compensation. In case of natural disasters like
floods, earthquakes or an epidemic, mostly all travel
insurance policies cover the insured for any financial loss
incurred during such natural disasters or a medical
emergency.
However, it is always advisable to refrain from travelling
to places where contingencies are foreseen or expected.
A spate of natural disasters and terrorist incidents in 2015
including the Paris attacks; the earthquake in Nepal and
the Ebola epidemic in West Africa have doubled the
consumption of travel insurance. Roughly 4.5 lakh travel
insurance policies worth approximately Rs 110 crore were
sold in 2014.
Despite this growth, penetration of travel insurance is still
quite low. Even though 90% of people are aware about it,
only 20% opt for travel insurance when they hit the road.
Segment-wide premium of non life insurers remains as
follow:
Indian insurance companies offer a comprehensive range
of insurance plans, a range that is growing as the economy
matures and the wealth of the middle classes increases.
The most common types include: term life policies,
endowment policies, joint life policies, whole life policies,
loan cover term assurance policies, unit-linked insurance
plans, group insurance policies, pension plans, and
annuities.
General insurance plans are also available to cover motor
insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and health
Life Insurance Today