Regulatory push, the advent of rural and social-focused insurance players, digital adoption and innovation are expected to drive the insurance industry, said a report released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and professional services firm KPMG in India.
In the report, titled “Insurance for All — Potential for Insuring a Billion + People”, CII and KPMG presented a comprehensive overview of the Indian insurance landscape, examining the growth drivers, the challenges and the strategies required to achieve a more inclusive and technologically advanced insurance ecosystem.
The future view
Regulatory pushes and the digital highway created by the Government of India will be critical in propelling the insurance agenda, said the report. Key aspects from a future perspective included:
New players in the Indian landscape who focus on the underpenetrated: The recent set of licences provided by the regulator focused on players who have a significant interest in the underpenetrated sections of the society. It will be critical to assist such players through distribution enablement, policy innovation support as well norms from an expenses and commissions perspective, as the rural sector would need significant physical presence and the policies would majorly be low ticket in nature.
Unified or combined propositions: The two most important coverages in the insurance context are life and health, and hence exploring combined product offerings by the private sector will be critical if a unified proposition is to be rolled out.
Service standardisation: Service standardisation and promotion of digital will be critical from an experience enhancement perspective. Additionally, promoting regional language capabilities and participating in the India Stack will be important to ensure transparency in communication and democratisation of key data.
Claims standardisation: Specifically from a health insurance perspective, to support the National Health Claims Exchange (NCHX) and the overall claims experience, standardisation of treatment protocols can be an effective measure for faster payouts and fraud prevention.
Digital, data, and analytics: Digital, data and analytics will find added importance, and use cases are expected to expand exponentially. Key considerations for providing a reliable and enhanced experience will include aspects of data privacy, data storage and consent mechanisms. Regulatory push, the advent of rural and social-focused insurance players, digital adoption and innovation are expected to drive the insurance industry. Concerted efforts are expected to play a prominent role in increasing insurance penetration and ensuring that the country receives adequate coverage across all strata of society for life, livelihood and property. Policy push, along with an industry-wide focus, is estimated to increase penetration, improving lives covered from approximately 35% to 55% by 2030.
Customer-driven products: Tailoring products to meet the specific needs of customers is becoming an essential concern in the Indian market. Addressing local risks for a diverse customer base will provide meaningful protection and foster trust in the industry
Policy push, along with an industry-wide focus, is estimated to increase penetration, improving lives covered from approximately 35% to 55% by 2030.