Insurance IPOs: Fear of the unknown keeps investors at bay

Analysts believe those looking for listing or short-term gains will not benefit

Even as Indian equity markets are touching new highs on a weekly basis, the performance of newly-listed Indian insurance companies have not been satisfactory. Of three issues listed on Indian bourses in the past two months, two companies — SBI Life and GIC Reinsurance (GIC Re) — are trading below their issue price. GIC Re, which listed on the exchanges on Wednesday, is already down by 6.4 per cent against its issue price of Rs 912 while SBI Life is down five per cent from its issue price of Rs 700. The other two companies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company