The Dynamics of General Insurance Sector in India - Growth and Performance Perspective

Life is full of risks and uncertainties. In fact risk is everywhere. Even when you ride a bike to the nearest shop in the street, there is a risk. One must protect himself or herself from this risk. The solution is insurance. Broadly it is two types i.e. life insurance and non-life insurance (general insurance). In this paper we discuss about only general insurance. General insurance helps in securing ourselves and things we value like homes, cars, bikes or any other property from any kind of mishap whether it is big or small. General insurance protect insured property from fire accidents, floods, earthquakes, storms, thefts, travel accidents/mishaps or any other kind of calamity, even from the cost incurred against us from legal action depending upon the type of policy selected by the insurer. From the post liberalization scenario, general insurance in India is growing rapidly. The reasons behind its spectacular growth are allowing private companies to enter into Indian market, low insurance premium, TPAs (Third Party Administrators), Fast and immediate settlement of insurance claims, Innovative general insurance policies, discounts in insurance products, increasing awareness among people, more distribution channels etc. The other side of the coin is, public sector insurance companies are facing cut throat completion from private insurance companies as they offer wide variety of policies at a low premium. Due to this few general insurance companies are closed and few are forced to come out with same polices and services. Ultimately the performance of public sector general insurance companies also enhanced with the competitive moves by private players. On the other hand, customers are also exposed to new trends in the insurance market. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is the apex body in India to monitor the activities of insurance companies. It has laid down standard terms and conditions to general insurance companies and also given scope for personal accidental life insurance policies. IRDA has taken all the measures to improve the performance of general insurance companies as it is one of the fast growing areas in Indian economy. General insurance companies under public sector are facing lot of challenges from private players and to with stand in the completion, even they have improved a lot in their quality of service in multiple facets like decreasing the premium, quick settlement in claims etc. In a nut shell, general insurance business is contributing significantly to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).