The Budget for 2009-10 did not go down well with the insurance industry, which was expecting tax concessions on several schemes and a roadmap for raising the Foreign Direct Investment cap to 49 per cent.
"From the life insurance industry perspective, we were expecting the Finance Minister to give a road map for the Insurance Bill. In that regard the Budget was a disappointment," said MetLife India Insurance Managing Director Rajesh Relan.
Further, no investment incentives were extended to life insurance. The life insurance industry will continue to grapple with the other asset classes under the current exemption limit of one lakh for savings products, he said.
Relan also said the Budget did not provide any clarity on the service tax levied on insurance products. This will continue to impact the policy holder's premium.
While, the FM is targetting a growth rate of 9 per cent in FY 10, there are no structural benefits provided to boosts the economy to reach that level, he said, adding, given the confidence of achieving the target, it may only help augment the current positive sentiment about India in the short term.
Welcoming the focus on infrastructure, he said, the key to success would now be the timely implementation of all the measures announced.