CII Communique - October, 2010

cover storyinsuranceDeveloping theMarket, ImprovingInsurance PenetrationDespite tremendousgrowth over thepast decade,India’s InsuranceSector is today atan inflexion point.CII’s 13th InsuranceSummit debatedthe way forward inrecasting businessmodels to align withsustainable growthobjectivesT S Vijayan,Chairman, CII NationalCommittee on Insuranceand Pensions, andChairman, LICJ Hari Narayan,Chairman, InsuranceRegulatory andDevelopment AuthorityYogesh Agarwal,Chairman, PensionFund Regulatory andDevelopment AuthorityTHE INDIAN INSURANCE industry has progressed significantlysince it was opened up for the private sector in 2000. From fourand eight players in life and non-life insurance respectively in 2000,today India has 23 players in life and 24 in non-life insurance,with the industry estimated to reach one trillion dollars by 2030.With 17% of the branches of insurance companies in the semiurbanand rural sector, the industry is also working on financialinclusion. By channeling domestic savings into various segmentslike infrastructure, it creates strong advances for the nation overall.The challenge, despite these positive indicators, remains growth.The Insurance industry is a major contributor to the economy asa channel of long term funds towards infrastructure and capitalformation; almost 30% of household financial saving is in insuranceand pension funds. The industry had strong growth over the lastdecade with life insurance growing at a CAGR of 25.8% and non-lifeinsurance growing at 17%. Within the non-life segment, health and10 | October 2010 Communiqué