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Time of India
20-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Jio-Allianz, Fairfax-backed Valueattics Re set to shake up India's Rs 50,000-cr reinsurance market
India's reinsurance sector is set for disruption as Jio-Allianz and Valueattics Re-a JV between Fairfax's Prem Watsa and Kamesh Goyal 's Oben Ventures-enter the market, challenging the dominance of state-run GIC Re in the country's ₹50,000-crore reinsurance business. GIC Re currently has a 51% market share, while the rest is distributed among 11 foreign reinsurance branches. On Friday, Jio Financial Services (JFSL) and Allianz Group (Allianz), through its wholly owned subsidiary Allianz Europe BV, announced they have entered into a binding agreement to form a 50:50 domestic reinsurance joint venture in the insurance market in India. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Operations Management Technology Product Management Degree CXO healthcare Digital Marketing MBA Design Thinking Data Analytics Project Management Leadership Healthcare PGDM Data Science Public Policy others Data Science Artificial Intelligence Others Finance Cybersecurity Management Skills you'll gain: Quality Management & Lean Six Sigma Analytical Tools Supply Chain Management & Strategies Service Operations Management Duration: 10 Months IIM Lucknow IIML Executive Programme in Strategic Operations Management & Supply Chain Analytics Starts on Jan 27, 2024 Get Details The two companies also entered into a non-binding agreement for setting up equally owned joint ventures for both general and life insurance businesses in India. ET Bureau Regulatory norms such as mandatory cession and order of preference could benefit the new entrants, giving them an edge over other reinsurers. Regulations mandate Indian insurers to cede 4% of each policy to GIC Re. This would be Allianz's third reinsurance entity after its existing branches under the Foreign Reinsurer Branch (FRB) and International Financial Services Centre Insurance Office (IIO) regimes. This proposed company would be an India-incorporated entity with a paid-up capital of a minimum ₹200 crore. While the other two reinsurance entities are focused on speciality reinsurance and certain lines of risks, the third entity, which will be an Indian reinsurer would have a standalone balance sheet and the flexibility to do treaty and facultative reinsurance. GIC Re, the national reinsurer, has long been the anchor of the domestic reinsurance market. In 2023-24, a total reinsurance premium of ₹62,113 crore was collected by Indian reinsurer GIC Re and foreign reinsurance branches (FRBs). About 81% of this business came from within India, which is ₹50,553 crore. Of this Indian business, GIC Re handled around 51%, while the remaining 49% was done by the foreign reinsurance branches including global reinsurers like Lloyd's. Reinsurers operating from within India, like Jio-Allianz and Valueattics Re could get preferential access over cross-border reinsurers in the order of preference mandated by IRDAI. As per IRDAI guidelines, every Indian general insurer must cede 4% of their sum insured on each policy to GIC Re- the Indian reinsurer under compulsory cession rules. While GIC enjoys 4% mandatory cession, this is subject to annual review. Also, reinsurers operating from within India, like Jio-Allianz and Valueattics Re, could enjoy preferential access over cross-border reinsurers in the order of preference mandated by IRDAI. The entry of Jio-Allianz could bring the scale, digital reach, and capital heft of Reliance Industries, while Valueattics Re, headed by Canadian-Indian billionaire Prem Watsa, entered the Indian reinsurance market in March this year and is expected to tap into Fairfax's global expertise and balance sheet strength, further accelerating competition in the domestic landscape.
Economic Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Digit Life Insurance FY25 revenue crosses Rs 1,300 crore in first full year of operations
Digit Life Insurance witnessed substantial growth in FY 2024-25. Its revenue surpassed Rs 1,315.9 crore. The company settled claims worth Rs 2.88 billion. Digit Life improved its claim settlement turnaround time to 1.89 days. The claim settlement ratio reached 99.53%. The company focuses on simplifying products and enhancing trust. Digit Life has served 6.7 million customers with over 4,000 agents. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Mumbai: Go Digit Life Insurance Limited ( Digit Life ), a new-age life insurance company, said its revenue (total gross written premium including reinsurance inward) crossed Rs 1,315.9 crore in FY 2024-25 compared to Rs 492.5 crore in the year-ago company settled claims worth Rs2.88 billion in FY 2024-25 with most claims (worth Rs1.97 billion) being paid under the Group Term Life Insurance category. Digit Life's average TAT of death claims settlement too, improved to 1.89 days during the year from 2 days in FY 23-24 with its claims settlement ratio for the same period hitting 99.53%.Digit Life shared the key figures as part of the second edition of its Transparency Report, a bi-annual exercise where it goes beyond mandatory disclosures and shares various data-led insights and stories.'We are encouraged by the response we have received in the last one year. We now have a robust portfolio of both retail and group products and will look to expand both segments equally in the coming years. We as a company will continue to focus on simplifying life insurance products and improving trust levels in the ecosystem—with the transparency report both as our report card and trust promise," Sabyasachi Sarkar, MD & CEO, Digit Life, company said it has developed a fully automated and secure verification process to identify and check declaration matches and built advanced face matching technology to verify the identity of its customers. It has also developed a claim document classification service that uses an intelligent process to quickly sort claims Life Insurance has served 6.7 million customers since its inception and now has over 4,000 agents and intermediaries. Its Solvency Ratio currently stands at Ventures LLP (promoted by Kamesh Goyal) and FAL Corporation (having Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited as its ultimate parent company) are the promoters of Digit Life Insurance. Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada.
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Leaderless and lagging: India's insurance overhaul stalls without Irdai head since March
Key reforms in India's insurance sector are stuck in limbo following the departure of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ( Irdai ) chairman Debashish Panda in March. With the top post still vacant since March, the sector is left without regulatory leadership at a time when several major initiatives are awaiting rollout, Times of India reported. The most ambitious of these is Bima Sugam , a centralised digital platform designed to allow customers to compare, purchase, and manage insurance policies online. Although each insurance company has already invested a few crore rupees into the development of this platform, the date of its official launch has still not been finalised. Alongside Bima Sugam, two other major initiatives—Bima Vistaar and Bima Vahaak—are also facing delays. Bima Vistaar is meant to offer bundled insurance coverage to rural populations, while Bima Vahaak is a distribution model driven by women. Both are facing technical and operational hurdles that have stalled their progress. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: 1 simple trick to get all TV channels Techno Mag Learn More Undo Plans to shift to a risk-based capital framework and align insurance accounting practices with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are also in suspension. These changes were intended to modernise the sector's regulatory oversight and financial disclosures. However, industry unreadiness and lack of clarity around implementation have halted progress. Meanwhile, proposals to allow 100% foreign direct investment in the sector, permit composite licences, and introduce differentiated capital requirements have yet to be passed into law. Plans to list state-run insurers on the stock market are also stuck, facing pushback from within the public sector. Live Events Even as reforms stall, regulatory scrutiny has increased in some areas. The Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry have raised concerns over banks and automobile dealers forcing customers to purchase bundled insurance products. Regulatory audits have uncovered several worrying practices in retail health insurance, including unclear reasons for claim rejections, steep premium increases, and poor portability. 'If the insurance industry is to grow the way mutual funds did after 2010, we need greater transparency, lower costs, and rebuilt trust,' said Kamesh Goyal, co-founder of Go Digit General Insurance . 'Sebi introduced direct plans and standard charges. Insurance could adopt similar guidelines—such as mandating refunds with interest when loss ratios fall below a certain level.' Goyal said that retail customers were effectively subsidising corporate clients. 'We're not saying distributors shouldn't earn, but loss ratios at 10% are unsustainable. A level of 60-65% is more realistic, accounting for costs and investment income. Once a fair value proposition is in place, mis-selling naturally comes down,' he said. Public sector insurers are also under pressure. Three have breached solvency norms. Even though insurance premiums have grown, the number of individual policyholders has stayed flat, which limits any real gains in financial inclusion. Surety bonds are another area that now demands regulatory attention. These bonds were introduced as substitutes for traditional bank guarantees. But insurers argue they come with higher risk as they lack the protections banks enjoy under existing bankruptcy laws. The delay in appointing a new Irdai chairman has slowed down reform at a time when the insurance industry is in urgent need of clear and forward-looking regulation. (with ToI inputs)
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Irdai chief post vacant since March, reforms stall
MUMBAI: Plans to revamp the insurance sector are in limbo, with key reforms stalling after Irdai chairman Debashish Panda left office in March. The post remains vacant, leaving the sector without regulatory leadership at a time when several major initiatives are awaiting rollout. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The most ambitious among them is Bima Sugam, a unified digital marketplace for policy comparison, purchase, and servicing. With each insurer having invested a few crore in the platform, its launch plan is yet to be finalised. Bima Vistaar, aimed at rural bundled coverage, and Bima Vahaak, a women-led distribution model, are also facing technical and operational delays. Moves to shift to a risk-based capital framework and align insurance accounting with IFRS remain incomplete. These efforts, meant to modernise regulatory oversight and financial disclosures, have not progressed due to a lack of industry readiness and clarity on implementation. Proposals to allow 100% FDI, issue composite licences, and introduce differentiated capital norms have yet to be legislated. Plans to list state-run insurers have also not advanced amid resistance from within the public sector. At the same time, regulatory scrutiny of mis-selling and poor distribution practices has increased. RBI and the finance ministry have flagged concerns over banks and auto dealers forcing customers to buy bundled insurance. Regulatory audits have revealed issues such as opaque claim rejections, sharp premium hikes, and poor portability in retail health insurance. "If the insurance industry is to grow the way mutual funds did after 2010, we need greater transparency, lower costs, and rebuilt trust," said Kamesh Goyal, co-founder of Go Digit General Insurance. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Sebi introduced direct plans and standard charges. Insurance could adopt similar guidelines-such as mandating refunds with interest when loss ratios fall below a certain level." Goyal added that small retail customers are often subsidising large corporate groups. "We're not saying distributors shouldn't earn, but loss ratios at 10% are unsustainable. A level of 60-65% is more realistic, accounting for costs and investment income. Once a fair value proposition is in place, mis-selling naturally comes down," he said. Public sector insurers are also under pressure, with three of them breaching solvency norms. While insurance premiums have increased, the number of individual policies has remained flat, limiting its impact on financial inclusion. Another area needing regulatory attention is surety bonds. Though these now substitute bank guarantees, insurers say they carry higher risk due to a lack of protection under bankruptcy laws-unlike banks. The delay in appointing a new chairman has slowed reform at a time when the sector needs urgent regulatory clarity.
