Ratings of 3 public sector insurers downgraded :

Global rating agency AM Best, which focuses on insurance sector, has downgraded 3 public sector
companies – National insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental insurance – reflecting deterioration in their operating performance and underwriting losses.

These companies may require around Rs. 5,000 crore recapitalization to meet the regulatory standards, experts said. “Having decided to merge the three insurers, will it not be in the owner’s (the government) interest to capitalize the three and keep them solvent till the merger takes place? The capital infusion required may be just some Rs. 5,000 crore which is indeed small compared to the Rs. 70,000 crore reportedly given to PSU banks, said former IRDAI Member KK Srinivasan

Motor cover renewals see over 50% increase :

Renewal of vehicle insurance policies has recently seen an increase of more than 50%. In some cases, growth has surged as much as six times. “We are experiencing an average increase of 3 -4 times in insurance renewal enquiries for old vehicles. Consumers are definitely taking cognizance of the motor vehicles act amendments and wanting to comply with the same. The encouraging part is to see traffic from both online and offline distribution platforms.

Arundhati Bhattacharya to invest in General Insurance Biz

In collaboration with Deepak Ishwarbhai Amin, former State Bank of India (SBI) director and Sunil Mehta, former country head and chief executive of AIG, former SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya is all set to plan to start a general insurance business, said an inside source.

IRDAI likely to link motor premiums with traffic violation soon.

In a bid to investigate and suggest linking of motor premiums with traffic violation, IRDAI has, set up a working group on the request of government. For the purpose of implementing the premium escalation formula, insurance companies will have to undertake a pilot project in the National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, according to an order issued by IRDAI on September 6.

As the working group is tasked with submitting its report within 2 months of the IRDAI order, bad drivers may face a double whammy soon as penalties for traffic violations have already gone up sharply.