Public sector general insurance companies have grown significantly after libersalisation of the insurance sector in 2001.
According to M Ramadoss, chairman-cum-managing director of The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, the gross premium income of the insurance industry has grown from Rs 8000 crore in 2002 to Rs 28,000 crore at present. He expects income of the industry to touch Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years.
Speaking at a seminar organised by Ficci here on Thursday, he said penetration of general insurance as a financial service is very low and there is huge scope for growth in the industry. Ramadoss suggested the government should consider tax breaks for health and personal accident insurance, besides giving freedom of policy designing to intermediaries.
According to National Insurance Company Ltd’s CMD V Ramasaamy, potential but inadequately tapped sectors like rural, retail and health are the focus of the insurance industry at present. Emergence of the upper-middle class in the last few years has stimulated the growth of health, automobile and household insurance, he said.
“Mortality rate is higher in semi-urban and rural areas owing to increasing cost of hospitalisation. Health sector is likely to grow 35% and general insurance premium is likely to be in the region of Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years,” he said. Total premuim income of National Insurance Company in the last fiscal was Rs 4,300 crore. The target for the current fiscal is Rs 4,500 crore, he added.
