Introduction

Insurance is an upcoming sector, in India the year 2000 was a landmark year for life insurance industry, in this year the life insurance industry was liberalized after more than fifty years. Insurance sector was once a monopoly, with LIC as the only company, a public sector enterprise. But nowadays the market opened up and there are many private players competing in the market. There are fifteen private life insurance companies has entered the industry. After the entry of these private players, the market share of LIC has been considerably reduced. In the last five years the private players is able to expand the market (growing at 30% per annum) and also has improved their market share to 18%. For the past five years private players have launched many innovations in the industry in terms of products, market channels and advertisement of products, agent training and customer services etc. In 2003, the Indian insurance market ranked 19th globally and was the fifth largest in Asia. Although it accounts for only 2.5% of premiums in Asia, it has the potential to become one of the biggest insurance markets in the region. A combination of factors underpins further strong growth in the market, including sound economic fundamentals, rising household wealth and a further improvement in the regulatory framework. The insurance industry in India has come a long way since the time when businesses were tightly regulated and concentrated in the hands of a few public sector insurers. Following the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act in 1999, India abandoned public sector exclusivity in the insurance industry in favor of market-driven competition. This shift has brought about major changes to the industry. The inauguration of a new era of insurance development has seen the entry of international insurers, the proliferation of innovative products and distribution channels, and the raising of supervisory standards. The insurance sector in India has come with a full circle from being an open competitive market to nationalization and back to a liberalized market again. Tracing the developments in the Indian insurance sector reveals the 360 degree turn

witnessed over a period of almost two centuries. Insurance in India used to be tightly regulated and monopolized by state-run insurers. Following the move towards economic reform in the early 1990s, various plans to revamp the sector finally resulted in the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act of 1999. Significantly, the insurance business was opened on two fronts. Firstly, domestic privatesector companies were permitted to enter both life and non-life insurance business. Secondly, foreign companies were allowed to participate, albeit with a cap on shareholding at 26%. With the introduction of the 1999 IRDA Act, the insurance sector joined a set of other economic sectors on the growth march. During the 2003 financial year1, life insurance premiums increased by an estimated 12.3% in real terms to INR 650 billion (USD 14 billion) while non-life insurance premiums rose 12.2% to INR 178 billion (USD 3.8 billion). The strong growth in 2003 did not come in isolation. Growth in insurance premiums has been averaging at 11.3% in real terms over the last decade.

The various life insurers entered India:1. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd. 2. Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd. 4. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited. 5. Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd. 6. Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Ltd. 7. SBI Life Insurance Company Limited. 8. ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Private Limited. 9. Met life India Insurance Company Ltd. 10. Royal Sundaram Life Insurance Company Limited. 11. Aviva Life Insurance Co. India Pvt. Ltd. 12. Sahara India Insurance Company Ltd. 13. Shriram Life Insurance Company 14. Life Insurance Corporation of India. 15. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited. 16. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Limited.

The Insurance Industry in India

An Overview
With the largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, Insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. Its a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs 1560.41 billion (for the financial year 2006 2007). Together with banking services, it adds about 7% to the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The gross premium collection is nearly 2% of GDP and funds available with LIC for investments are 8% of the GDP. Even so nearly 65% of the Indian population is without life insurance cover while health insurance and non-life insurance continues to be below international standards. A large part of our population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with hardly any old age income security. This in itself is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector in India is immense. A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is needed for economic development as it provides long term funds for infrastructure development and strengthens the risk taking ability of individuals. It is estimated that over the next ten years India would require investments of the order of one trillion US dollars. The Insurance sector, to some extent, can enable investments in infrastructure development to sustain the economic growth of the country.

Historical Perspective
In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. It finds mention in the writings of Manu (Manusmrithi), Yagnavalkya (Dharmasastra) and Kautilya (Arthasastra). The writings talk in terms of pooling of resources that could be re-distributed in times of calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. This was probably a pre-cursor to modern day insurance. Ancient Indian history has preserved the earliest traces of insurance in the form of marine trade loans and carriers contracts. Insurance in India has evolved over time heavily drawing from other countries, England in particular. 1818 saw the advent of life insurance business in India with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. This Company however failed in 1834. In 1829, the Madras Equitable had begun transacting life insurance business in the Madras Presidency. 1870 saw the enactment of the British Insurance Act and in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the Bombay Mutual (1871), Oriental (1874) and Empire of India (1897) were started in the Bombay Residency. This era, however, was dominated by foreign insurance offices which did good business in India, namely Albert Life Assurance, Royal Insurance, Liverpool and London Globe Insurance and the Indian offices were up for hard competition from the foreign companies. In 1914, the Government of India started publishing returns of Insurance Companies in India. The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act, 1912 was the first statutory measure to regulate life business. In 1928, the Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to enable the Government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life business transacted in India by Indian and foreign insurers including provident insurance societies. In 1938, with a view to protecting the interest of the Insurance public, the earlier legislation

was consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act, 1938 with comprehensive provisions for effective control over the activities of insurers. The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished Principal Agencies. However, there were a large number of insurance companies and the level of competition was high. There were also allegations of unfair trade practices. The Government of India, therefore, decided to nationalize insurance business. An Ordinance was issued on 19th January, 1956 nationalising the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The LIC absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies245 Indian and foreign insurers in all. The LIC had monopoly till the late 90s when the Insurance sector was reopened to the private sector. The history of general insurance dates back to the Industrial Revolution in the west and the consequent growth of sea-faring trade and commerce in the 17th century. It came to India as a legacy of British occupation. General Insurance in India has its roots in the establishment of Triton Insurance Company Ltd., in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British. In 1907, the Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd, was set up. This was the first company to transact all classes of general insurance business. 1957 saw the formation of the General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India. The General Insurance Council framed a code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices. In 1968, the Insurance Act was amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins. The Tariff Advisory Committee was also set up then. In 1972 with the passing of the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, general insurance business was nationalized with effect from 1st January, 1973. 107 insurers were amalgamated and grouped into four companies, namely National Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. The General Insurance Corporation of India was incorporated as a company in 1971 and it commence business on January 1sst 1973.

This millennium has seen insurance come a full circle in a journey extending to nearly 200 years. The process of re-opening of the sector had begun in the early 1990s and the last decade and more has seen it been opened up substantially. In 1993, the Government set up a committee under the chairmanship of RN Malhotra, former Governor of RBI, to propose recommendations for reforms in the insurance sector. The objective was to complement the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The committee submitted its report in 1994 wherein , among other things, it recommended that the private sector be permitted to enter the insurance industry. They stated that foreign companies be allowed to enter by floating Indian companies, preferably a joint venture with Indian partners. Following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, in 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was incorporated as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market. The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registrations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. The Authority has the power to frame regulations under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938 and has from 2000 onwards framed various regulations ranging from registration of companies for carrying on insurance business to protection of policyholders interests. In December, 2000, the subsidiaries of the General Insurance Corporation of India were restructured as independent companies and at the same time GIC was converted into a national re-insurer. Parliament passed a bill de-linking the four subsidiaries from GIC in July, 2002. Today there are 14 general insurance companies including the ECGC and Agriculture Insurance Corporation of India and 14 life insurance companies operating in the country. The insurance sector is a colossal one and is growing at a speedy rate of 15-20%. Together with banking services, insurance services add about 7% to the countrys GDP. A welldeveloped and evolved insurance sector is a boon for economic development as it provides

long- term funds for infrastructure development at the same time strengthening the risk taking ability of the country.

Key Milestones
1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business. 1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses. 1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public. 1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers along with provident societies were taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC was formed by an Act of ParliamentLIC Act 1956- with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of India.

Insurance Sector Reforms In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian Insurance Industry and recommend its future direction. The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at 'creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes

currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms...'. In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included:

I) Structure
1 2 Government stake in the insurance companies to be brought down to 50%. Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so that

these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations. 3 All the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate.

II) Completion
4 Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs. 1bn should be

allowed to enter the industry. 5 entity. 6 Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration with No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance through a single

the domestic companies. 7 8 each state. Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market. Only one State Level Life insurance company should be allowed to operate in

III) Regulatory Body

9 10 11

The Insurance Act should be changed. An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up. Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should be

made independent.

IV) Investments
12 Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be

reduced from 75% to 50%. 13 GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company (There

current holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of time).

V) Customer Service
14 15 16 LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days. Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension plans. Computerization of operations and updating of technology to be carried out in

the insurance industry. The committee emphasized that in order to improve the customer services and increase the coverage of the insurance industry should be opened up to competition. But at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise caution as any failure on the part of new players could ruin the public confidence in the industry. Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way by stipulating the minimum capital requirement of Rs. 100 crores. The committee felt the need to provide greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve their performance and enable them to act as independent companies with economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed setting up an independent regulatory body.

Present Scenario Life Insurance Industry in India

The life insurance industry in India grew by an impressive 47.38%, with premium income at Rs. 1560.41 billion during the fiscal year 2007-2008. Though the total volume of LIC's business increased in the last fiscal year (2007-2008) compared to the previous one, its market share came down from 85.75% to 81.91%. The 17 private insurers increased their market share from about 15% to about 19% in a year's time. The figures for the first two months of the fiscal year 2008-09 also speak of the growing share of the private insurers. The share of LIC for this period has further come down to 75 percent, while the private players have grabbed over 24 percent. With the opening up of the insurance industry in India many foreign players have entered the market. The restriction on these companies is that they are not allowed to have more than a 26% stake in a companys ownership. Since the opening up of the insurance sector in 1999, foreign investments of Rs. 8.7 billion have poured into the Indian market and 19 private life insurance companies have been granted licenses. Innovative products, smart marketing, and aggressive distribution have enabled fledgling private insurance companies to sign up Indian customers faster than anyone expected. Indians, who had always seen life insurance as a tax saving device, are now suddenly turning to the private sector and snapping up the new innovative products on offer. Some of these products include investment plans with insurance and good returns (unit linked plans), multi purpose insurance plans, pension plans, child plans and money back plans.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

Reforms in the Insurance sector were initiated with the passes of the IRDA Bill in Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as a statutory body in April 2000 has fastidiously such to its schedule of framing regulations and registering the private sector insurance companies.

The other decision taken simultaneously to provide the supporting systems to the insurance sector and in particular the life insurance companies was the launch of the IRDA online service for issue and renewal of licenses to agents. Section 14 of IRDA Act, 1999 lays down the duties, powers and functions of IRDA. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and any other law for the time being in force, the Authority shall have the duty to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance business and re-insurance business. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in sub-section (1), the powers and functions of the Authority shall include, (a) Issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, renew, modify, withdraw, suspend or cancel such registration; (b) protection of the interests of the policy holders in matters concerning assigning of policy, nomination by policy holders, insurable interest, settlement of insurance claim, surrender value of policy and other terms and conditions of contracts of insurance; (c) Specifying requisite qualifications, code of conduct and practical training for intermediary or insurance intermediaries and agents; (d) Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors; (e) Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business; (f) Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance business; (g) Levying fees and other charges for carrying out the purposes of this Act; (h) calling for information from, undertaking inspection of, conducting enquiries and investigations including audit of the insurers, intermediaries, insurance intermediaries and other organisations connected with the insurance business; (i) control and regulation of the rates, advantages, terms and conditions that may be offered by insurers in respect of general insurance business not so controlled and regulated by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938); (j) Specifying the form and manner in which books of account shall be maintained and statement of accounts shall be rendered by insurers and other insurance intermediaries; (k) Regulating investment of funds by insurance companies;

(l) Regulating maintenance of margin of solvency; (m) Adjudication of disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries; (n) Supervising the functioning of the Tariff Advisory Committee; (o) Specifying the percentage of premium income of the insurer.