INSURANCE IN INDIA

Overview

• The first insurance company in India was the Oriental Life Insurance Company, founded in Calcutta 1818. However, it is now defunct
• The first Indian insurance company was the Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, founded 1870
• The oldest existing insurance company is the National Insurance Company, founded 1906
  
• Insurance was nationalised in 1956 and then opened up to private sector in 1999.
• Currently the government allows 26% FDI in the insurance sector
• The largest life insurance company in India is the Life Insurance Corporation
• Insurance falls under the purview of the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance
  

Nationalisation of insurance

• Life insurance in India was nationalised by the Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956
• All 245 life-insurance companies in India at the time were merged to form the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
• The General Insurance Business Act 1972 nationalised general insurance companies
• The existing 100 general insurance companies were amalgamated into the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC).

GOVERNMENT BODIES IN INSURANCE

All government bodies in insurance function under the Ministry of Finance unless otherwise noted
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

• Established 1956, headquarters Mumbai
• The LIC is the largest life insurance company in India and also the nation’s largest investor
  
• It funds close to 25% of the government’s expenses
• The LIC owns the following subsidiaries
  • Life Insurance Corporation of India International: provides USD denominated policies to NRIs
  • LIC Nepal
  • LIC Lanka
  • LIC Housing Finance

General Insurance Corporation (GIC)

• Established 1972, headquarters Mumbai
• The GIC is a holding company for four subsidiary companies
  
  • Oriental Insurance Company Ltd (New Delhi)
  • New India Assurance Company Ltd (Mumbai)
  • National Insurance Corporation Ltd (Kolkata)
  • United India Insurance Company Ltd (Chennai)
• The GIC is the sole re-insurance company in India
  
• The GIC covers insurance for the entire spectrum of the economy from shoes to aircraft, from agricultural wells to oil wells, from chemical manufactures to satellite launches etc

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)

• Established 2000, headquarters Hyderabad
• The IRDA was set up to protect the interests of policy holders, and to regulate the growth of the insurance industry
• Some of the functions of the Authority include
  • Regulate investment of funds by insurance companies
  • Regulate maintenance of margin of solvency
  • Adjudicate disputes between insurers and intermediaries

Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC)

• Established 2003, headquarters New Delhi
• The AIC is promoted by the GIC and NABARD
• The AIC is under administrative control of Ministry of Finance, but under operative control of Ministry of Agriculture
• The AIC offers area based and weather crop insurance schemes to farmers
  
• It is one of the largest agriculture insurance companies in the world

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

Social Security Scheme

• A Social Security Fund (SSF) was set up in 1988-89 for providing social security through group insurance schemes to the weaker sections of society
• The SSF is administered by the LIC
  
• The SSF provides up to Rs 5000 on death from natural causes and Rs 25,000 upon death/disability due to accident

Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY)

• The Janashree Bima Yojana was launched in 2000
• The JBY is a group insurance scheme. The minimum membership of the group should be 25 persons
• The JBY is administered by the LIC
  
• The JBY provides for insurance protection to rural and urban poor. The scheme covers BPL people and above poverty line people who belong to certain identified occupational groups
• The scheme provides for cover of Rs 20,000 on natural death. The scheme also provides pension of Rs 200

Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY)

• Launched in 2007
• Provides insurance to the head of the family of rural landless households
  
• Covers natural death and accidental death/disability
• The scheme also provides additional benefit of scholarships for max two children between 9^th and 12^th standards
• Administered by the LIC
  

Universal Health Insurance Scheme (UHIS)

• The UHIS is meant to improve access of health care to poor families
• Scheme provides for reimbursement of medical expenses, death and compensation due to loss of earning capacity
• The UHIS targets only BPL families
  

National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS)

• Launched in 1999
• Protects farmers against losses due to natural calamities such as flood, drought, pestilence etc
  
• Scheme is implemented by the Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC)
  
• The Scheme is available to all farmers irrespective of the size of their land holdings
  
• The Scheme covers all food crops and oil seeds. It also covers some commercial and horticultural crops
• The scheme has until now covered more than 1.3 million farmers and 211 million hectares of land

Pilot Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS)

• Launched in 2007, on a pilot basis
• The WBCIS aims to cover farmers against anticipated crop failure due to adverse weather conditions
  
• The scheme is based on the fact that weather parameters can affect crop yield even when the farmer has taken all care to ensure a good harvest
  
• The payouts are based on historical data that determine weather thresholds/triggers beyond which crop losses are expected
  
• The WBCIS is implemented by the AIC
  
• The scheme is currently being implemented on 30 major crops including horticultural crops
  
• Currently the scheme covers more than 110,000 farmers and 1.4 million hectares of land