The much troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir has suddenly become the latest and Max New York Life are looking to open full fledged offices in the valley in the next few weeks, despite the political instability. Though insurance industry insiders said that the move to launch operation in J&K is primarily due to competition, it may be noted that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has from time to time emphasised that the private insurers must cover the country uniformly.
Though there has been no recent direction on the issue, the regulator had send a circular to the companies a couple of years ago saying that the insurers are focusing on only a few states while neglecting some like the ones in the north eastern region of the country. SV Mony, secretary general, Life Insurance Council told FE that this is a necessary move and would help the insurance industry as a whole. ?It is a positive move and consumers across the country must have a choice in terms of insurance,? Mony said.
HDFC Standard Life started its operations in the valley about five months ago while Bajaj Allianz is present there for about a year.
Apart from the private insurers, the state owned Life Insurance Corporation has already been in operation in the troubled state. A senior official at Max New York Life said that there would be no alteration in the products, even though the state is more vulnerable to terror activities.
Meanwhile, the life insurance industry in India saw a 100% growth in 2006-07, though issues like raising the foreign direct investment bar from the current level of 26% to 49% is yet to be sorted out.