Private sector life insurer MetLife today said it is bullish on India as the industry contributed 4.1 per cent to the economy in 2009, a handsome rise since the sector was thrown open to the private sector in 1999.
"There are several inflection points that the industry is awaiting. Prominent among them is the passage of the insurance laws (amendment) bill 2008 ...A hike in the sectoral FDI cap to 49 per cent would further strengthen the insurance sector as it would help increase penetration of insurance, improve financial inclusion and fuel growth," he said.
The sector has contributed Rs 6,000 crore in FDI, even as the bill to increase the cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent is still pending in Parliament. MetLife India Insurance Managing Director Rajesh Relan said the industry is looking for early passage of the Insurance Amendment Bill to increase the FDI cap.
The government is likely to reintroduce the Insurance Bill on FDI cap in the next parliament session. MetLife India Insurance Company incorporated in 2001 is a joint venture between MetLife, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, M. Pallonji and Co. Pvt Ltd and other private investors.
According to Relan, the life insurance industry is on a threshold of a giant leap into the future.
Relan said, "The private life insurance industry has come a long way over the last ten years. We, today have 22 private life insurers in the market (from one LIC till 1999). We all are very bullish on the India story. India would be the growth engine for the future."
The life insurance industry is among the high employment generation space in the country. The number of employees and agents in the sector has risen to 32.69 lakh in 2009 compared to 8.37 lakh in 1999. At present, life insurance industry has 29.97 lakh agents and 2.72 employees compared to 7.14 lakh agents and 1.23 lakh employees in 1999.
There has been a significant 10-fold increase in the new business premium collection of the life insurance industry in the last 10 years. The new premium collection has increased to Rs 86,983 crore in 2009 compared to Rs 8,299 crore 10 years ago.
The number of branches of life insurer players has risen to 11,806 from 2,048 in 1999.
