Privatisation and Growth of Insurance Industry in India

Abstract

India initiated its insurance sector reforms in 2000 as an inevitable part of the on-going economic reforms in the country. This long awaited reform was expected to boost the sector. The Insurance reform was marked with the establishment of IRDA, participation of private companies and permission of FDI, and soon it emerged as one of the most vibrant segment of Indian financial sector. India’s insurance sector witnessed many changes and experienced high growth after the privatisation. As the privatised insurance industry has completed more than a decade now and the sector is evolving with the progression of further reform, a close scrutiny of the sector is needed. This paper tries to narrate the story of the development and growth of the insurance sector during the first decade after the privatisation of the sector.