The Global Financial Crisis And The Role Of Regulator In Minimizing Its Adverse Impact On Indian Insurance Industry

India has recently emerged as a major political & economic power in the world. The financial crisis that engulfed the world in 2008 needed developing countries like India to lead the rescue and recovery, instead of G7 westerns countries who dealt with such crisis in the past. Recently, discussions and negotiations are going amongst G20 countries regarding a new global financial architecture (G-20 Summit, 2008). The outcome will affect the relevant industries in India and hence it is a public interest issue for the actuarial profession in the country. Increased and more intrusive and costly regulations and red tapes are likely to be a part of the new deal (Economic Survey 2009-10).The objective of this paper is to study the perception of higher level authorities in Insurance sector regarding the role of regulator in minimizing the impact of global financial crisis. The primary data has been collected from 200 authorities in insurance industry. The data has been analyzed with statistical tools like MS-Excel.On the basis of the findings, various measures and policy recommendations for insurers have been suggested to minimize the impact of crisis.

India has recently emerged as a major political & economic power in the world. The financial crisis that engulfed the world in 2008 needed developing countries like India to lead the rescue and recovery, instead of G7 westerns countries who dealt with such crisis in the past. Recently, discussions and negotiations are going amongst G20 countries regarding a new global financial architecture (G-20 Summit, 2008). The outcome will affect the relevant industries in India and hence it is a public interest issue for the actuarial profession in the country. Increased and more intrusive and costly regulations and red tapes are likely to be a part of the new deal (Economic Survey 2009-10).The objective of this paper is to study the perception of higher level authorities in Insurance sector regarding the role of regulator in minimizing the impact of global financial crisis. The primary data has been collected from 200 authorities in insurance industry. The data has been analyzed with statistical tools like MS-Excel. On the basis of the findings, various measures and policy recommendations for insurers have been suggested to minimize the impact of crisis.

This Technical Note provides an assessment of the recent development of regulation and supervision of the Indian insurance sector. The sector has continued to grow in scale and diversity, surmounting the adverse impact of the global financial crisis, although penetration remains relatively low. Public sector insurers continue to command a majority of the market and life insurance predominates, with about 75 percent of total premiums. Non-life insurance is dominated by motor insurance. Penetration rates are unchanged from 2011 and generally lower than in comparator countries, especially in non-life. Although traditional sale channels continue to predominate, there is increasing diversity in distribution. Risks in life insurance are relatively well spread and in non-life are mainly short-term.

This special report assesses the impact of the crisis on the insurance sector and reviews policy responses within OECD countries.

Since the deregulation of the Indian insurance sector in 1999, the market-share of the country's sole largest public-sector player Life Insurance Corporation of India has drastically gone down with the entry of private players. The abrupt rise in the presence of private players has eventually raised concerns about the performances of the life insurance players in safeguarding the interests of the policyholders. Further, the global financial crisis of 2007-08 had its contagion effects in the Indian insurance industry, the ripples of which were even felt in the performances of the Indian life insurers. The study thus makes an attempt to evaluate the operational efficiencies, productivity and financial health of the life insurance companies in India, covering the period from 2008-09 to 2014-15 against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and the insurance sector deregulation in India. The study has also hinted at the monopolistic-competition type of market structure prevailing in the country's life insurance sector. The study further gave indications about the commendable turnaround manifested by the life insurers from the spill-over effects of the financial crisis post 2010.

A Brookings Institution Press and Georgia State University publication Important changes have buffeted the insurance industry over the past decade. The 1999 repeal of key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act unleashed a wave of conglomeration in financial services, as bank holding companies acquired insurance and securities businesses and, to a much lesser degree, insurance companies acquired securities firms and banks. Rivalry within the sector has intensified: insurance companies have developed products that compete directly with the offerings of banks and securities firms and vice versa. In addition, the industry has become increasingly global. Against this backdrop, pressure has been building for fundamental changes to the structure of insurance regulation in the United States. Despite several court challenges over the years, insurance continues to be regulated by the states. Many insurance companies view state regulation as an increasing drag on their efficiency and competitiveness and support a federal regulatory system. However, powerful stakeholders, including state officials, state and regional insurance companies, and many insurance agents, oppose federal regulation. As a result, proposals to establish an optional federal charter (OFC) for insurance companies and agents remain mired in fierce debate. The Future of Insurance Regulation in the United States gathers some of the country's leading experts on financial regulation to assess the case for an enhanced federal role in the insurance sector. They pay particular attention to the merits of an OFC and how it might be designed. They also consider the principles that should guide insurance regulatory policies, regardless of the institutional framework, and examine the implications of financial convergence and the internationalization of insurance markets for an optimal regulatory structure. The debate over insurance regulation has only grown in complexity and intensity since the financial crisis began in the fall of 2008. This book will both inform and help to shape those critical discussions. Contributors: John A. Cooke (International Financial Services London), Robert Detlefsen (National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies), Martin F. Grace (Georgia State University), Robert W. Klein (Georgia State University), Robert E. Litan (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Brookings Institution), Phil O’Connor (PROactive Strategies), Hal S. Scott (Harvard Law School), Harold D. Skipper (Georgia State University), Peter J. Wallison (American Enterprise Institute).

This volume’s primary contribution to the field of Economics is that it addresses the issue of inter-linkages between money, finance and macroeconomics with a broad analytical perspective that has commonality with the Post-Keynesians. In an attempt to assess the consequences of economic reforms and the fallout of the global financial crisis on India and the world around, the book argues that with the onset of the crisis, as in most advanced economies, debates and discussions in India have been concerned with three main issues: monetary policy and asset prices, financial stability, and macro-prudential regulation. Three related issues which are also considered important in the Indian context are – rule vs. principle-based supervision, integrated financial supervision, and regulatory and supervisory independence. The book argues that the crisis highlighted the inadequacies of macro-prudential regulatory structure which mainly addresses idiosyncratic risks specific to individual financial institutions. The crisis precipitated an extensive debate on the role of national regulatory and supervisory authorities in crisis prevention and crisis management via macro-prudential regulations which involves a general equilibrium approach to regulation aiming at safeguarding the financial system as a whole. The book then argues that the crisis led to a paradigm shift in macroeconomic theory and policy. This shift has been categorized into four specific areas: monetary policy, financial regulation, corporate governance, and globalization. The book analyses how the characteristics of each of these four categories have changed from the pre-crisis to the post-crisis situation. The book also delves into the phenomenon of rising global commodity prices post-crisis. The book also deals with an analysis of the impact of this crisis on employment in the US economy, by simulating a macroeconomic model developed by the Cambridge Department of Applied Economics in the 1980s.

This book is an outcome of the research undertaken on impact of global financial crisis on Life Insurance industry in South India. Insurance in any economy is regarded as a pillar of growth for overall development of the economy. Volatile economic condition with recent financial crisis changed the competitive landscape in life insurance industry with a challenging future ahead in India.An examination of the effect of the crisis on Indian economy and savings pattern of people and priority for insurance is made. It contains a quantitative and objective assessment of how well the life insurers in India managed the global crisis in Madurai Division and at the National level. There is an analysis on the behaviour of policyholders' towards LIC and views towards global financial crisis and perceptions of the policyholders about the service rendered by the LIC of India using SERQUAL model.It is hope that the readers will be enlightened on the necessity for investing in life insurance during their earning period.It also offers some valuable insights to the branch managers of LIC to aggressively improve customer service standards and revamp distribution networks.

The future of the insurance regulation begins now For those involved with the insurance industry, from investmentprofessionals to policy makers, and regulators to legislators,tremendous change is coming. With insurance premiums constitutingan ever-growing portion of annual U.S. GDP and provisions of theDodd-Frank Act specifically calling for modernization of insuranceregulations, the issues at hand are pervasive. In ModernizingInsurance Regulation, these issues are described against abackdrop of the political and industry discussions that surroundinsurance, regulation, and systemic risk. Experts Viral V. Acharyaand Matthew Richardson discuss a variety of issues with topthinkers in the fields of finance, derivatives, credit risk, andbanking to bring to light the most germane elements of this ongoingdiscussion. In Modernizing Insurance Regulation, Acharya andRichardson call on the expertise of all the relevant stakeholderswithin government, academia, and industry to offer a well-roundedand independent view of insurance regulation and how the evolutionof this key industry affects the U.S. economy now and in thefuture. Provides an overview of the feasibility of maintaining astate-level regulatory structure Offers a view of the issues from top academics, industryleaders, and state regulators Explores the debate surrounding the insurance industry andsystemic risk Provides an in-depth look at upcoming changes under theDodd-Frank Act Modernizing Insurance Regulation provides a look into thecrucial changes coming to insurance regulation and an overview ofhow those changes will affect almost everyone.

Many risks face the global insurance industry today, including the aging populations of developed countries, competition from other financial institutions, and both disparate and quickly changing regulatory demands, to name a few. The book s contributors offer their unique perspectives on challenges confronting the insurance industry and how attendant risks can be most effectively managed.