Insurance Companies in India

Insurance in India is considered as a national matter and insurance industry has become a booming sector giving tremendous scope and possibilities for several national as well as international insurance companies. Insurance sector in India has gone through several changes especially after the year 1999 when the Indian government opened the insurance sector for private companies to get engage in the insurance business. This gave huge potential for the insurance sector allowing Foreign Direct Investment up to 26%. Since then the Indian insurance sector is considered as a flourishing market and has definitely got an edge among the global insurance companies.

 

History of Indian Insurance

 

Indian insurance history dates back to 1818 with Oriental Life Insurance Company, which was established by Europeans in Kolkata to cater the insurance requirement of the people. The first Indian insurance company was started in the year 1870 with Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society which covered Indian life at quite nominal rates. To regulate the insurance business the government of India passed two acts in the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act and the Provident Fund Act. In the year 1906, National Insurance Company Ltd. was founded, which is the oldest existing insurance company in India. The insurance sector earlier has only two insurers, Life Insurance Corporation of India and General Insurance Corporation of India.

 

Types of Insurance

 

There are usually three types of insurance in India, which is obtained by the people to cover their life and health risk. Types of insurance found in India include:

 

• Life Insurance – Life insurance guarantees a specific sum of money to the assigned beneficiary upon the death of the insured, or the specific sum of money is handed over to the insured if the insured lives beyond a certain age.

 

• Health Insurance – Health insurance provide insurance against expenses incurred on the illness of the insured.

 

• General Insurance - This insurance is obtained to insure property, vehicles, automobiles, professional and business mishaps.

 

How to choose an Insurance Company?

 

There are many factors taken into consideration by the people while choosing an insurance company. Some of the major factors that affect the decision of the people include:

 

• The investors should check the financial strength and capability of the insurance companies and how well the companies meet the ongoing responsibility to their policy holders.

• Insurance Companies fundamentals should be strong and they should not indicate a poor investment opportunity which might hamper the investment growth of the policyholders. read more...