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New Delhi, Apr 15 () Digital payments major Paytm on Wednesday said it has named Vineet Arora as the managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm General Insurance Ltd. The appointment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is a step for Paytm to further its journey into the insurance sector with an immediate focus on General Insurance, the company said in a statement. Arora will lead the efforts to provide industry-leading solutions in the general insurance space, where Paytm continues to explore options to enter the sector, it added. "The financial service solutions that Paytm is building for millions in India are relevant globally as well. With Paytm leading the way I believe just like payments, the general insurance industry would also go through a major transformation going forward," Arora said. Previously, Arora served as the managing director and chief executive officer of Aegon Life Insurance Company and was part of the India Leadership team. Before that, he was senior general manager and head Product, Distribution, Marketing and Wealth Management at ICICI Securities Ltd where he built a profitable distribution business across various delivery channels. SR SHWSHW

Paytm General Insurance Ltd names Vineet Arora as MD, CEO

<ul><li>In the last 10 years, the insurance industry has adapted itself to the fast-paced internet world and has become hassle-free. </li><li><keyword id="3463335" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="pushan-mahapatra">Pushan Mahapatra</keyword>, MD and CEO, <keyword id="6400643" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI-General-Insurance">SBI General Insurance</keyword> walks us through the evolution of <keyword id="6512638" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-sector">insurance sector</keyword> and shares what the future of <keyword id="3779111" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-insurance">digital insurance</keyword> in India will look like. </li></ul>The insurance sector has endured an evolution over the past years, which has largely impacted the direction of the industry and shifted its traditional expectations. Due to a range of dynamic external influences from technology to socioeconomic factors to government policies, these macro trends are poised to continue, changing the insurance industry along with it. Since its inception, insurance industry has grown stronger as the sector adopted itself to increased awareness, innovative products, and more distribution channels. Though there has been a growth in premiums at the industry level, the insurance penetration level in India is still very low as compared to other countries in the world, thereby providing ample opportunity for all insurers in the ecosystem to grow. With over 460 million internet users, India is the second largest online market, ranked only behind China. By 2021, there will be about 635.8 million internet users in India, most of the digital population in India are mobile internet users. This has resulted in people who are adopting more digital mediums to interact and with the backing of the government to push for the digital India movement, the insurance industry is also adopting digital technologies in presence. The use of web-based technologies as an Insurance service delivery medium has added new elements to service dissemination. Escalation in self-service technologies has provided customers with multiple choices for using the services offered by insurers. The online service attributes of ‘convenience’ and ‘ease of use’ are being given priority by insurers for designing web-based services Future of digital insurance New digital platforms support micro duration and atomisation of insurance by item. In a digital era where the customer needs are ever-changing, insurance providers need digital infrastructure to introduce, evaluate, and adopt new products/technologies/business models. Building such infrastructure in-house will be costly and slower. Integrating with third party systems like hospitals to evaluate medical data for underwriting, evaluating the wellness of a policy holder in terms of fitness and his need during the entire customer lifecycle would ensure better products and pricing. Also, use of telematics systems in auto-insurance would change vehicle insurance from class-based pricing to driver behaviour-based pricing. Distribution through E-Tailors, Web aggregators and fintech companies are expected to witness an upward momentum in coming years In addition, Insurers in India are gradually adopting digital medium to provide their services keeping in view the millennials as well as rural penetration. Use of digital medium instead of physical distribution are much more feasible for them to reach out to the end users as well as increase insurance penetration. We are also witnessing improved quality data (IIB, IRDAI) availability for insurers for better underwriting decisions and service efficiency. - By Pushan Mahapatra, MD and CEO, SBI General Insurance Also see: <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="73046703" title="Top stocks to buy in 2020, recommended by experts" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

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The future of digital insurance in India

Mumbai, Mar 5 () The General Insurance Council, the apex industry lobby of the 44-member strong non-life insurers, on Thursday said almost all health insurance policies cover epidemics, including coronavirus. The statement comes after the regulator Irdai on Wednesday asked insurers to cover coronavirus cases in their existing policies and also to ensure that they expeditiously attend to the coronavirus claims. "Almost all the existing health policies cover almost all epidemics, which includes the coronavirus too. What the regulator (Irdai) said was not to frame a new policy but asking the industry to treat coronavirus cases expeditiously," A V Girija Kumar, chairman of the General Insurance Council, told here on the sidelines of an industry event to launch an awareness campaign to increase adoption of general insurance policies. There are 30 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in the country as of Thursday, of which 16 are Italian tourists. On Wednesday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) asked insurers to expeditiously settle hospitalisation claims related to coronavirus disease under health policies. It also instructed insurers to come out with policies to cover treatment costs for coronavirus infection, which has impacted thousands of people worldwide. "For the purpose of meeting health insurance requirements of various sections, insurers are advised to design products covering the costs of treatment for coronavirus," Irdai said in a circular. He said the campaign is funded by the 44-strong industry -- 25 general insurance companies, six standalone health insurance and two specialised insurance companies, along with 11 reinsurers -- to drive awareness about the importance of non-life insurance. Kumar, who is also chairman of the state-run Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, said the industry is on course to close the current financial year at Rs 2 lakh crore and the industry is eyeing to double the size to Rs 4 lakh crore by 2024-25. He also said the industry has set a target of increasing the adoption of non-life insurance policies to 2.5 per cent from the current 1 per cent by 2029-30. He said that over the past two decades -- since the privatisation of the industry -- the non-life insurance industry has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 17 per cent and the premium is expected to be Rs 2 lakh crore this year, up from about Rs 10,000 crore in 2000-01. Though the penetration in this period has increased from about 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product (in 2000) to around 1 per cent now, this is far below the penetration of 1.85 per cent and 2.8 per cent in Asia and globally, respectively. According to the latest Irdai data, only about 4.2 crore individuals have a retail health policy, leaving out-of-pocket spends at about 65 per cent as compared to global average of 18 per cent. BEN HRS

General insurers say existing health policies cover coronavirus

Following the successful acquisition of ING Vyasa, <keyword id="6376194" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak-Mahindra">Kotak Mahindra</keyword> Bank plans to enter the general insurance market. The bank will soon launch a subsidiary insurance company as it has received the requisite approval from the Reserve Bank of India (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>). 
	 
	“The General Insurance business in India is currently a Rs 77,000 crore premium per annum industry and is growing at a healthy rate of 17%. It provides a cover of close to Rs 1,000 lakh crore,” said Gaurang Shah, president of Asset Management, Insurance and International Bank division of Kotak Mahindra. 
	 
	“With the addition of General Insurance business, Kotak Mahindra group with existing presence across banking, wealth management, life insurance, broking, mutual funds and private equity will be able to offer the complete range of financial products and services to our retail and wholesale customers. Our knowledge and experience across the BFSI spectrum generates excellent cross synergies that we hope to leverage in our General Insurance business to the benefit of our customers and stakeholders alike,” added Shah. 
	 The company has also received in-principle approval from insurance regulatory body Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (<keyword id="6361421" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IRDA">IRDA</keyword>) for commencing the new subsidiary. 
	 
	The bank has appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian, the current executive vice-president and co-head of Branch Banking vertical of the bank, as the CEO of the new general insurance company. 
	 
	“With Kotak Mahindra group’s increasing distribution network, growing brand equity and consumer franchise, we believe we will be able to leverage synergies and add significant value to the general insurance business. Being a new entrant, we will have opportunities to embrace new technologies and developments in the digital world to provide innovative products and solutions which will deliver superior customer experience,” said Balasubramanian. 
	 
	Image: Indiatimes.com

Kotak Mahindra Bank
To Enter General Insurance Market, Will Soon Set Up Insurance Subsidiary

Mumbai, Jan 21 () Fairfax Group-backed general insurance start-up Digit Insurance on Tuesday said it has received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) to raise USD 84 million (about Rs 600 crore) from equity investors A91 Partners, Faering Capital and TVS Capital. 
 The new round of investment will take Digit's total funding to USD 224 million (about Rs 1,600 crore), the company said.
 This is one of the largest funding rounds in the domestic general insurance space, the company, which offers a portfolio of products across motor, travel, property and health insurance, claimed. 
 Within two years of operation, Digit now serves more than 5 million customers and has achieved close to USD 300 million of annualised premium and has 1.2 per cent market share in general insurance industry.
 In addition to the three high quality institutions investing in the company, 72 Digit employees have also invested over USD 4.34 million along with the investors as part of the funding round. 
 The funding round shows the confidence of investors and employees on the business model, Digit Insurance founder and Chairman Kamesh Goyal said. 
 Aditya Parekh, co-founder and managing director of Faering Capital, said Digit is uniquely poised to become a dominant player in the general insurance industry and we are excited to offer our expertise and partner with them. 
 The company has previously raised two rounds of funding amounting to USD 140 million. 
 Fairfax Financial Holdings is one of the largest insurance investment companies in the world with operations in over 30 countries.
 Headquartered in Bengaluru, Digit has partnered with some of the leading companies like Cleartrip, Sterling Holidays, SOTC and Policy Bazaar. BEN
 RVK

Fairfax-backed Digit Insurance gets Irdai nod to raise USD 84 mn

<ul><li><keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> wants to start selling <keyword id="6360041" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="life">life</keyword>, health and general <keyword id="35450" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance">insurance</keyword> policies to its Indian customers in the capacity of a corporate agent. </li><li>Unsurprisingly, Amazon’s local rivals, <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> and <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, are also preparing to enter the segment given the low rate of insurance penetration in the country. </li><li>The share of insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP stood at 3.7% of GDP in 2017-18, according to Swiss Re, a reinsurer, compared to a global average of 6.1%.</li></ul>Amazon India had had its sights set on the country’s financial services space for a while. Last year, it started offering a digital wallet in India to shoppers on its e-commerce platform. Earlier this week, Amazon’s payments arm launched a service that allows Indian consumers without credit cards to purchase products on an EMI basis. Next on the list? Amazon wants to start selling life, health and general insurance policies to its Indian customers in the capacity of a corporate agent, according to Bloomberg. In essence, it will list the various policies and products offered by insurance companies on its website. Much like the platform PolicyBazaar, Amazon plans to allow customers to pick and choose between different policies and purchase coverage like they would buy a mobile phone or book. Unsurprisingly, Amazon’s local rivals, Paytm and Flipkart, are also preparing to enter the segment given the low rate of insurance penetration in the country. The share of insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP stood at <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/indias-insurance-penetration-premium-per-person-up-marginally-in-fy18-swiss-re-2681721.html">3.7%</a> of GDP in 2017-18, according to Swiss Re, a reinsurer, compared to a global average of 6.1%. There’s a lot of room to grow and the industry is expected to record $280 billion worth of revenues in the current fiscal year, as per a study by ASSOCHAM. More importantly, only 3% of insurance is estimated to be bought online, a figure that will surge as the access to the internet increases. In <a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/2017/11/24/flipkart-plans-to-sell-insurance-awaits-regulators-nod">November last year</a>, Flipkart was said to have applied to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for a greenlight to start selling life and general insurance policies on its website. Meanwhile, in February 2018, Paytm’s parent set up two units for life and general insurance after receiving a corporate licence to do so in September 2017.

Amazon wants to sell insurance policies to Indians

Kolkata, Apr 7 () Seeing business opportunity amidthe spread of the coronavirus pandemic, insurance companies inthe country have started offering policies specific to COVID-19 and some of them partnered with digital payment serviceproviders to push sales of such plans, officials said onTuesday.Bharti AXA General Insurance has tied up with AirtelPayments Bank to launch two health insurance plans-oneoffering a lump sum amount of Rs 25,000 and another with dailybenefit starting Rs 500 per day-to provide protection fromCOVID-19, a company official said.In partnership with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance,digital payment service provider PhonePe, operated by FlipkartOnline Services, also launched a coronavirus hospitalisationinsurance policy called "Corona Care", another official said.The policy is priced at Rs 156 with an insurance coverof Rs 50,000 for a person aged under 55 years, and the coveris applicable at any hospital offering coronavirus treatment,he said.Star Health Insurance and Edelweiss General Insuranceare among others which have also come up with exclusiveinsurance policies for COVID-19.Most of the insurance companies, which are offeringthe specific polices, are not asking their potential customersto go for medical check up, but making sure that they do nothave coronavirus-like symptoms, an industry expert said.Some of the insurers are also offering products tocover expenses, including treatment during quarantine period,he said, adding that terms of claim settlement by thesecompanies vary and a buyer must read the document carefullybefore purchasing an insurance plan.However, many industry experts "don't see much value"in buying separate policies to protect from the disease forpeople who are covered under general health insurance plans.During the dengue outbreak, several insurancecompanies came up with policies to protect from the vector-borne diseases, they said, adding that there are manyexisting health insurance plans in the market, which provideprotection from the COVID-19 disease.The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority ofIndia has already asked health insurance companies to offermedical coverage for coronavirus infection in the country, anofficial said.The Life Insurance Council also said the clause of'force majeure' will not apply in case of COVID-19 deathclaims, he said.The regulator has also instructed insurance companiesto design specific health policies covering the treatment costof COVID-19, including medical expenses incurred during thequarantine period, and some have already introduced the same. BSMBDC BDC

Insurance cos start offering exclusive COVID-19 policies, partnering with online payment firms

Mumbai, Jun 4 () Universal Sompo General Insurance has roped in Sharad Mathur of rival SBI General as its managing director and chief executive. Mathur, who has held various positions at SBI General Insurance and was last the head of distribution, will lead Universal Sompo's overall operations and report to the board. He brings over 23 years of experience in building scale and profitable general insurance businesses. Universal Sompo is a joint venture between Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dabur Investments Corporation and Sompo Insurance of Japan. It employs over 1,000 people across 86 branches and 17 zonal offices. "Under Mathur's leadership, we aim to develop a capability to deliver more innovative products, re-engineered distribution architecture and significant improvements in productivity," said Indian Bank MD Padmaja Chunduru. Daniel Neo, regional chief executive of Sompo Holdings Asia said: "India is a rapidly-growing market for our business in Asia. Mathur's understanding of the market and general insurance business, combined with his expertise in sustainable business expansion and digital technologies, will be a huge asset for Universal Sompo." Prior to joining SBI General in 2009, he was with ICICI Lombard General Insurance since its inception in 2001 and had held various regional and national leadership roles. Before that he worked with MRF, Bharat Shell and Reliance Retail. The city-based Universal Sompo is the first public-private partnership joint venture in the domestic general insurance industry. Its gross underwritten premium stood at Rs 2,833.53 crore in 2018-19 with a profit of Rs 206.71 crore. BEN ANU ANU

Universal Sompo ropes in Sharad Mathur of SBI General Insurance as CEO

As <keyword id="472962" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC-Life">HDFC Life</keyword> and <keyword id="1118012" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="max-life">Max Life</keyword> are all set to create the country's biggest private life insurer, <keyword id="6448020" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepak-Parekh">Deepak Parekh</keyword> and <keyword id="10338" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Analjit-Singh">Analjit Singh</keyword> came together in a press conference to disclose some of the details of the deal which is now sealed. Parekh said he believes macro economic conditions in India are favourable for such a merger and, HDFC and Max have strong synergies. Meanwhile Analjit said he has not seen effective consolidation in <keyword id="6406875" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="life-insurance">life insurance</keyword> industry in years. 

	Key announcements made: 
 

	- HDFC LIFE to be the listed entity on completion of merger process

	- Max Life to merge into Max Fin Svcs, then into HDFC LIFE

	-Renewable premiums to grow around 10% per year going ahead. New business premium to grow by 15% in five yrs

	-Deal is subject to regulatory, shareholder approvals, and there is no need for open offer in Max Life merger

	-The agreement provides for a mutually agreed 6-month exclusivity period for due diligence and discussions between the parties in relation to a proposed transaction.
 

	The combined entity would be the largest private sector insurer, both in terms of assets under management and new business premiums. Assets under management of the combined entity would touch Rs 1.10 lakh crore and new premiums would almost touch Rs 9400 crore.
 HDFC Life is a joint venture between HDFC and <keyword id="1110792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Standard-Life-plc">Standard Life Plc</keyword>, a provider of financial services in the UK. While HDFC holds 61.65 per cent in it, the foreign partner holds 35 per cent. Max Life Insurance, is a joint venture between Max Financial Services Ltd. and Mitsui Sumitomo InsuranceCo. Ltd. The foreign partner holds 25 per cent in the insurer. Max Financial Services is already listed on the stock exchanges and is the holding company of Max Life Insurance. 

	For HDFC, this will be the second such merger announced in this month. Earlier in June, HDFC Ergo General Insurance, the general insurance arm of mortgage lender HDFC, said that it will acquire L&amp;T General Insurance for Rs 551 crore, which if completed would be the first ever merger in the insurance industry.

HDFC Standard + Max Life = Rs 50,000 crore, India’s largest private insurance company

<ul><li>The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill was tabled by <keyword id="26680" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitin-gadkari">Nitin Gadkari</keyword>, the Minister for Road Transport &amp; Highways in the Lok Sabha.</li><li>It has one hiccup for the Indian insurance industry – unlimited cap on third party insurance liability. </li><li>The earlier version of the Bill had capped the liability at ₹10 lakh but that has been removed. </li></ul>While the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill would make way for compulsory insurance cover for all road users in India, it has one hiccup for the Indian insurance industry – an unlimited cap on third party insurance liability. The earlier version of the Bill, which has been three years in the making, had capped the liability at ₹10 lakh. “The earlier proposed capping on claims amount for a third-party liability cover has been removed and currently stands at an unlimited amount. This might lead to increased perceived value of third party insurance but might lead to very high losses,” said Animesh Das, Head of Product Strategy, <keyword id="4055885" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Acko-General-Insurance">Acko General Insurance</keyword>. The compensation for hit-and-run cases is increased to ₹2 lakh in case of a death, from the existing ₹25,000, added Das. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill was tabled by Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for Road Transport &amp; Highways in the Lok Sabha. The Bill hopes to change the way Indians drive on the roads. It also introduces heavy penalties for offenders. The Bill is also set to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, which would provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India. And, there are also benefits for <keyword id="1405341" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Insurance-players">insurance players</keyword>. “The fine for not carrying a valid insurance is also increased to ₹2000. This shall lead to increased awareness and higher insurance penetration,” said Das.

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Paytm General Insurance Ltd names Vineet Arora as MD, CEO

PTI

The future of digital insurance in India

Guest Author

General insurers say existing health policies cover coronavirus

PTI

Kotak Mahindra Bank To Enter General Insurance Market, Will Soon Set Up Insurance Subsidiary

Purba Das

Fairfax-backed Digit Insurance gets Irdai nod to raise USD 84 mn

PTI

Amazon wants to sell insurance policies to Indians

Dilsher Dhillon

Insurance cos start offering exclusive COVID-19 policies, partnering with online payment firms

PTI

Universal Sompo ropes in Sharad Mathur of SBI General Insurance as CEO

PTI

HDFC Standard + Max Life = Rs 50,000 crore, India’s largest private insurance company

Anushree Singh

Here’s why insurance players aren’t too happy with the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill

Sanchita Dash

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