FM soon to unveil measures for revival of insurance sector

25 Sep 2012 Evaluate

Aiming the revival of insurance sector, the government is planning to unveil a slew of measures by easing the rules with the help of insurance regulator - IRDA, to protect the growth of the industry from hobbling. To make the financial products more attractive and to draw the investors away from assets such as gold, the government is looking at the tactic of lowering the service tax on insurance premiums.

Further, Finance Minister, P Chidambaram has convened a meeting with the IRDA on Sept 26, to firm up proposals to increase retail participation in insurance. This is mainly done to restore the sales of life insurance products, which fell steeply in the last financial year, due to strict regulatory regime following the plunge in the equities market that took the luster off unit-linked products.

The finance ministry is of the view that multiple tie-ups give consumers more choice and increase the reach of insurance. However, the regulator is against allowing banks to sell products of multiple insurers, arguing that this could raise operational costs and lead to mis-selling. Instead, it has suggested that banks set up separate brokerage firms, which could sell products of multiple insurers. The insurance industry also wants more flexibility in investment rules for insurance companies.

With the main concern to make sure the safety of shareholders' funds and to allow insurers subscribe more to infrastructure debt funds, IRDA has agreed in-principle to change the investment norms for insurers, to allow insurers to take a larger exposure to the infrastructure sector and also help deepen the bond market.

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