Listen to this article
Debashish Panda, Chairman, IRDAI said that the insurance industry has become a Rs.59 lakh crore industry as on February 2023. He was speaking at the recently held FICCI conference.
Panda said that the privatization of the insurance industry in India happened 20 years ago but the industry has already reached an AUM of Rs 59 lakh crores in FY 2023 with a total premium of more than Rs 10 lakh crore. The industry registered 16% growth in both life and non-life products in February 2023, he said
Highlighting the growth potential of the Indian insurance industry, Siddhartha Mohanty, MD & In-Charge, LIC India said that by 2047, India’s population is projected to reach 2.64 billion which will make it the world’s most populous nation. “We are already in a critical phase and have to make use of this opportunity,” he said.
Ritesh Kumar, MD & CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company drew attention to the fact that as far as health insurance is concerned, the top and bottom segments of the population are well covered, but there remains the ‘missing middle’ comprising 400–500 million people. He feels that a larger thought process needs to go into how these challenges can be addressed.
Prashant Tripathy, MD & CEO, Max Life Insurance feels that the industry should increase its focus to tap retirement market.
“If we are not able to get insurance into the school curriculum, at least let us start the conversation,” said Mahesh Kumar Sharma, MD & CEO, SBI Life Insurance.
Devesh Srivastava, CMD, GIC Re feels that insurance products need to be very simple. “The need is to have simple, flexible products that can be pushed,” he said.
Satyajit Tripathy, CMD, United India Insurance Company observes that all penetration in the hinterlands is driven by government schemes. It is very advantageous for insurance companies to use the government machinery, he said.
Manoj Kumar Jain, MD, Shriram Life said, “We are known for working with the common man and our premium is one fourth of the average industry premium.” He further said that there is a huge demand of insurance in small cities and towns and the industry can reach these places through agency network.
