While the average global insurance penetration rate is at 6%, India has achieved only 3.49%, suggesting that much more work needs to be done to bring the country into line.
One of the main reasons why insurance penetration in India continues to lag its peers is that policies are viewed primarily as vehicles for enjoying tax benefits and for savings, and not as a way to manage risk, according to specialists at a recent seminar organised by the Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry recently.
Finance minister Etala Rajender (pictured), who attended the seminar, noted that the Telangana government is concentrating on holistic development of people, and is offering crop insurance and Rs500,000 (US$7,400) insurance to farmers.
Sujay Banariji, a former director of the Oriental Insurance Company and a member (distribution) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, said that although the state is among the top 15 states in terms of insurance penetration, there is still the need for insurers to work harder to bring insurance closer to more people.
