Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

15-May-2012 17:58 IST

Insurance Penetration in the Country

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has informed that the total insurance penetration, which is the ratio of insurance premium as a percentage of GDP has increased from 2.32 in 2000-01 to 5.10 in 2010-11. The life insurance penetration has decreased from 4.60 in 2009-10 to 4.40 in 2010-11, whereas the non-life insurance penetration has increased from 0.60 in 2009-10 to 0.71 in 2010-11.

The insurance penetration is impacted by several macro-economic factors such as growth, inflation, interest rates, small savings return and returns of competing financial products offered by banks and mutual funds.

The IRDA undertakes a sustained insurance education campaign under the brand name Bima Bemisaal. The campaign seeks to educate the uninsured and the insured about the need for insurance, rights, obligations of policyholders etc through various media channels viz. print, radio and television. IRDA also supports consumer bodies in conducting seminars and workshops on insurance in various parts of the country in order to create awareness about insurance. The Bima Bemisaal campaign is carried out in various Indian languages including Hindi, apart from English. IRDA has also brought out educational material for the public and policyholders. Further, to create awareness, IRDA over the last two years has started conducting yearly seminars exclusively on policyholder protection and welfare that brings together all stakeholders including consumer representatives.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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DSM/SS/Hb

Insurance penetration trends show diverging life and non life trajectories and prompt regulator education and policyholder protection measures. Total insurance penetration rose over the decade while life penetration fell and non life penetration rose in the latest year. IRDA links these movements to macroeconomic factors and conducts the Bima Bemisaal public education campaign, publishes educational materials, supports consumer seminars and holds annual policyholder protection seminars to improve awareness and welfare.