Title: The Progressive Development of India’s Insurance Industry from Ancient to Present Times
Abstract: Financial security has become a basic need in contemporary human societies. This is a clear development since ancient times where food, clothing, and shelter were the only real basic human needs. Due to the changes in our lifestyles, we have greater basic needs including health and financial security. Insurance has been used as an innovative and creative tool for our security. The objective of this paper is to revisit the important role of insurance in assisting the policyholders at the personal level and in supporting the development of economy in India. The documentary approach is used in this paper. The literature evidences that during ancient times, insurance in India started with general insurance for flood and fire. During the colonial period, Oriental Life Insurance was the first British company and was established in 1818. During the period, the Insurance Act (1938) was the only reference for the insurance industry until its nationalisation. Life insurance industry was nationalised in 1956 and the general insurance industry was nationalised in 1972. Upon the recommendation of the Malhotra Committee, the industry was liberalised in 2000 and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act became the new Act governing the industry. Currently, there are 27 general insurance companies and 24 life insurance companies and only one government owned Reinsurance Company. Therefore, it can be concluded that the progress of the insurance industry is tremendous and it has been playing its significant role as the backbone of the Indian economy.
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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