Mrs. Neerja Kapoor is the first Chairman cum managing director of the New India Assurance company, the largest non-life insurer in India. The editor of this newsletter talked to her on important issues facing the industry for her views. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

The insurance industry is at the cusp of a significant change, and most of the changes aim to reach the entire population of India and make insurance services easier for the consumer. What is the present state of consumer experience, and how do you view it for the future?

Expenses of management (EoM) Regulations for non-life companies are essential part of growth and development of any insurance company in India. The compliance with EOM regulations or forbearance due to compelling reasons require a deep understanding of these regulations. Mr S Skandan, Advisor GI Council looking after regulations and accounting dives deep into the subject in a three article series to be carried in this newsletter. The first article of the series gives an introduction of the rules

Ships stranded around the east Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv are set to be the centre of war risk insurance payouts amounting to hundreds of millions of US dollars on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The region has the highest concentration of ships that have remained stranded at Ukraine ports since Russian tanks rolled across the Ukraine border on 24 February last year

The evolution of auto insurance in India is driven by a growing focus on the needs of customers. Usage-based insurance plans, such as PAYD (pay-as-you-drive), PHYD (pay-howyou-drive), and combination of PAYD and PHYD, offer customers the flexibility and convenience they desire, allowing them to pay only for the coverage they use

Hippocrates famously said, ‘Health is the greatest of human blessings.’ There is much wisdom and foresight in these words. Health is our most precious asset, and it is only befitting that we take all measures to safeguard our health. However, despite our best efforts to remain fit and healthy, we are prone to meet medical exigency at any point in time. We should plan for such emergencies in advance to ensure that we are well-equipped to handle them as and when they surface. Today comprehensive health insurance has become a must-have due to increasing medical inflation, the early onset of health issues, and the rise of lifestyle-related disorders. An adequate health insurance plan provides financial assistance during situations like illnesses and accidents.

“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson” goes one of the famous quotes by the reverted Dalai Lama. In this context, the Indian insurance industry, even as it grappled with the overnight challenges thrown up by the pandemic, has applied the lessons learnt, and is marching steadily towards the digital transformation of the industry at large.

Protection and Indemnity insurers have set a new excess war risk sub-limit for ships trading to areas affected by Russia’s war with Ukraine.

As global temperatures keep rising above the pre-industrial times, the stability that we took for granted is in a state of flux and headed for irreversible consequences. This is thanks to the over-exploitation of Nature - resulting in Climate Change together with biodiversity loss and pollution. Munich Re sees climate change and La Niña as two of the drivers for a $120 billion annual disaster insured loss for 2022. $100 billion or more is the “new normal” for the global insurance industry’s annual natural disaster loss total.

The services sector occupying lion's share of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one indicator of a nation's economic development. The sector has a huge impact on the lives of the country's population. The financial health of the organisations in this sector is now almost synonymous with the financial health of the country. In view of the risk profile of the financial sector, in advanced countries, the RBC has emerged as a key concept to guard the health of this sector, prompting similar initiatives in other emerging markets. It can be equally effective and rewarding in all other sectors/segments of the economy. Today the term surprisingly carries a mystic aura around it. This article is an attempt to present to the reader a preliminary understanding of RBC and some dimensions associated with its implementation / adoption.

Insurance industry is undergoing sweeping reforms in India, thanks to the initiatives introduced and encouraged by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). They are substantial and far-reaching in nature. One of the areas where reforms are expected to have visibility and significant influence is giving freedom to insurers to develop their own insurance policy wordings which hitherto were largely dictated by erstwhile tariffs, market agreements and reinsurer wordings etc. Free policy wording may be a matter of celebration for free-wording absolutists. While it is a welcome development, left handled casually or negligently, it may create trust deficit among insurance customers when predictability is sacrificed for the alluring objective of free-wording. If the policy language is ambiguous and prone to different interpretations, it may also result in avoidable and costly litigation in the area of claims settlement and unintended outcomes.

At the end of January 2023, the general insurance industry has grown by 16.58% touching a Gross Direct Premium of Rs. 212720 crores. The health insurance business growth at 24% and Motor insurance at 16% are the highest contributors to this growth.

Knowing that a smartphone in your palm is the next best thing to a computer, the modern generation places heavy emphasis on its technological capabilities. These are the advantages of buying a mobile insurance policy