IRDA allows five new insurance companies in India- (May-June 2008)

IRDA has issued Certificates of Registration to five new companies in May-June 2008, to undertake insurance business in India. The total number of life insurers registered with the Authority has gone up to 21. While, the total number of general insurers registered with IRDA has gone up to 20.

LIFE INSURERS:

1. Aegon Religare Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture life insurance company promoted by Religare Enterprises Limited, India, Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, India and Aegon N.V., Netherlands has been registered on 27th June 2008, as a Life Insurer with IRDA.

2. DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture life insurance company promoted by DLF Limited, India and Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd, USA has been registered on 27th June 2008, as a Life Insurer with IRDA.

3. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture life insurance company promoted by Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, India and HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited (INAH), Hong Kong has been registered on 8th May 2008, as a Life Insurer with the Authority.

NON-LIFE INSURERS:

1. Bharti Axa General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture general insurance company promoted by Bharti Ventures Limited, GIBA Holdings Pvt Limited, India and Societe Beaujon, a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA S.A., France has been registered on 27th June 2008, as a General Insurer with IRDA.

2. Shriram General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture general insurance company promoted by Shriram Financial Services Holdings Pvt Ltd., India and Sanlam Limited, South Africa has been registered on 8th May 2008, as a General Insurer with the Authority.

Source: insuremagic

Aviva not to come into general insurance in India

Bar a foray into general insurance in the near future, Aviva India would focus on its life insurance business in the country and plans to develop its operations by approximately doubling direct sales force and lift up branch network by the year-end.

The company has no plans to enter the general insurance sector in India as after studying the market we realise that there is lot to do in the life insurance sector. First, they want to focus on that.

Earlier, there were speculations that Aviva India, whose parent company UK-based Aviva is a global leader in the general insurance business, may venture into non-life insurance in India as well.

Source: insuremagic

Insurance cover for tsunami-hit

The Kerala Government and the Centre in association with the United India Insurance Company Ltd will jointly launch a health and personal accident insurance policy for the "Tsunami affected below poverty line (BPL) families.

Around 1.54 lakh families in Kerala would be covered by this insurance scheme 'Tsunami Jan Bima Yojana'.The beneficiaries need not pay any premium.

Out of the annual premium of Rs 800, Rs 500 would come from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund while Rs 300 will be borne by the Union Finance Ministry.

Source: insuremagic

SBI Life to leverage bank network also raising the no of agents

SBI Life is setting up to raise its operations in the rural and semi-urban areas by improved utilization of SBI branch network and raising the number of advisor.

SBI Life said that they want to make a important difference in our rural reach by doubling the number of agents by 2008-09 and fuller-utilization of SBI branch network in rural areas.

SBI has more than 7,000 branches in the country. More than 50 pct of these are located in rural and semi-urban areas. Though SBI's products are being sold in these branches, there is a lot of scope for further business.

BI Life would launch a health product in the first quarter of the next fiscal and implement direct payment of premium through core banking network.

SBI life has implemented a pilot micro insurance project, Grameenn Shakti, in Bhubaneswar for Self Help Groups (SHGs) in December, 2007 and provided life cover to 2.5 lakh women.

Source: insuremagic

Corporates pruning health insurance cover for staff

Mumbai: Many corporates, particularly top IT companies and BPOs, are pruning the health insurance coverage for their staff, following sharp increase in premium rates. Some corporates have even taken away parents of employees from their group insurance scheme, restricting the benefit only to the staff.

IT companies, which have traditionally offered substantial health covers for their staff as a human resource incentive, are now choosing to cut costs either by introducing a co-payment structure (where an employee has to partly bear the cost) or by doing away with the cover altogether, they said.

“IT companies are reacting to the twin but unrelated threats of business recession and increase in health insurance premium rates by tweaking benefits and coverage. BPOs, for instance, where traditionally attrition has been high, are cutting down on coverage for parents,” said Mr V.G. Dhanasekaran, Vice-President and Regional Head – South, India Insure Risk Management & Insurance Broking Services P Ltd. India Insure handles several group health insurance accounts.

“Some have either reduced the overall limits or brought in sub-limits within the overall floater limit for parents. Co-payment has been introduced in several policies,” he said.

The insurance restrictions come in the wake of high claims from parents.

“The overall claims ratio in the corporate group health portfolio is high — up to 150 per cent. Around 60 per cent of the claims in this segment come from parents of employees. So, the cover is either being spun out of the scope of coverage or co-payment has been put in,” said Mr Girish Rao, Managing Director, Swiss Re Healthcare Services.

“Covers for employees have also been restricted. So, junior employees may have access only to twin sharing rooms in hospitals, employees in the middle rung may be given a single room and senior officials may have air conditioned rooms, he added.

Owing to their high staff strength, IT, ITeS and BPO companies are the biggest buyers of group policies, followed by other services companies, manufacturers and media houses.

Since the beginning of the free pricing regime, insurance companies have raised rates on their group health policies since they no longer require to cross-subsidise it against the more profitable corporate property insurance policies.

In the last 6 months, premium rates have gone up by 25-40 per cent on group health covers but the claims still far outweigh the premium. Insurers still want to have big corporate names as their clients, even at a cost.

An insurer accepted renewal of the health cover by a leading IT company for Rs 25 crore in spite of it suffering claims of around Rs 35 crore in the previous year.

Likewise, a leading BPO which had reported claims of over Rs 9 crore in the previous year, renewed its policy for just Rs 6 crore.

Some experts argue that the individual customers are paying higher premium and end up subsidising for the corporates.

“While premium for individuals has gone by an average of 10-50 per cent, the increase has not been in the same proportion for corporates,” said Dr Sandeep Dadia, Director, Enam Insurance Brokers.

The health insurance market currently stands at Rs 4,000 crore in terms of premium of which 40 per cent comes from corporate health insurance.

Source: Business Line