1Page. The Monthly Insurance Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 5, Oct 2017

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Cameron Hancock
5 years ago
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With this approval, Zoom Insurance Brokers has begun its journey as a Composite Insurance Broker which will

In the last 8 years, we have evolved as the "Broker of Choice" for many prominent business houses and

Prashant Gupta, Founder & CEO For the coming years, our focus will be on Customer Centricity, Insurer

Reinsurers who can share their global experience with our clients and insurance partners.

1 The Monthly Insurance Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 5, Dear All, It gives me immense pleasure in informing you that we have received our Reinsurance Broking License from IRDAI, our insurance regulator. With this approval, Zoom Insurance Brokers has begun its journey as a Composite Insurance Broker which will act as a great enabler to support our Clients and Insurance partners. In the last 8 years, we have evolved as the "Broker of Choice" for many prominent business houses and customers. Prashant Gupta, Founder & CEO For the coming years, our focus will be on Customer Centricity, Insurer Relationships, Technology and establishing ourselves as Thought Leaders in various disciplines and bring in Reinsurers who can share their global experience with our clients and insurance partners. Our Reinsurance Operations will include Analysis and placement of Treaty and Facultative programs and our team will be handling both General and Life Reinsurance placements. I once again congratulate you all on this momentous occasion and may we all look forward to an interesting journey ahead. 1Page

Bala s core competencies lie across the Reinsurance spectrum including Treaty Underwriting and structuring, Retrocession placements and Technical accounting.

2 Meet : Our Head-Reinsurance We are proud to introduce Mr B Balakrishnan, who has recently joined as Head of our Reinsurance Practice. Bala comes with more than 30 years of work experience in the Indian and International markets having handled multimillion dollar programs for General Insurers and Reinsurance Companies. Bala s core competencies lie across the Reinsurance spectrum including Treaty Underwriting and structuring, Retrocession placements and Technical accounting. He brings with him great technical acumen coupled with a transparent and honest approach. Bala is based out of Mumbai and has various education certifications from Insurance Institute of India and Chartered Insurance Institute, London. Brief History of Reinsurance Previous Appointments: ITI Reinsurance Ltd, Mumbai Trust Re, Bahrain Qatar Insurance Company, Doha Dubai International Insurance United India Insurance Company Ltd, Chennai The Italian word rasichurare (which literally means to insure again an insured risk ) appeared for the first time in a document from Florence in the fifteenth century. That document was a part of the contract papers for shipment of wool worth 200 gold florins from Southampton to Porto Pisano. In fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, coinsurance practice was much in use in maritime trades. Reinsurance appeared formally in the seventeenth century when the insurers first felt the need of setting up capital reserves in order to comply with solvency margin norms. First formal reinsurance contract dates back to 1813 between Eagle Fire Insurance Company of New York and Union Insurance. Reinsurance Company Limited was the first sole reinsurance company in the world set up in England in 1867, but it became dysfunctional after a short span of time. In 1907, Mercantile and General Insurance Company was set up in England and with the creation of this, British reinsurance grew to such an extent that it became a globally recognized market. 2Page

3 Reinsurance in India Reinsurance before Nationalization In India, the period from 1951 onwards was marked by a rapid growth of insurance business. This was because of large-scale economic development in the country during the period. The increased insurance business required the reinsurance protection. At that time reinsurance was arranged from the foreign markets mainly British and Continental. In 1956, Indian Reinsurance Corporation, a professional reinsurance company was formed by general insurers operating in India and it started receiving voluntary quota share cessions from member companies. In 1961, the government made it completely statute on the part of every insurer to cede 20% in Fire and Marine Cargo, 10% in Marine Hull and Miscellaneous insurance and 5% in Credit and Solvency business to approved Indian reinsurers, namely Indian Reinsurance Corporation and Indian Guarantee and General Company. The mentioned percentages were used to be allocated equally between the two reinsurers. Thus, the reinsurance market was further strengthened by the addition of second professional reinsurers. In 1966, Indian Insurance Companies Association initiated the formation of Reinsurance Pools in Fire and Hull departments to increase the retained earned premium in the country. Reinsurance post Nationalization At the time of Nationalization of general insurance business in 1971, there were 63 domestic insurers and 44 foreign insurers operating in the country and each company had its own reinsurance agreements. In 1973, these companies were reconstituted into four companies: National Insurance Company Limited; New India Assurance Company Limited; Oriental Insurance Company Limited; United India Insurance Company Limited. These four companies were thus left to operate in the country as subsidiaries of a holding company known as General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) as per General Insurance Business Nationalization Act (GIBNA), After nationalization, in 2000, GIC was notified as India s sole reinsurer in the domestic market. In 2002, General Insurance Business Nationalization Amendment Act replaced earlier GIBNA, Subsequently, four subsidiaries got delinked from GIC and in March 2003, GIC officially became GIC Re. After that, the outward reinsurance agreements of the Indian insurance companies were rearranged to maximize domestic retention. From 1st April 2003, it was mandated by law that each and every insurer in India has to mandatorily cede every risk s 5% to GIC Re. 3Page

4 Recent Updates and Developments Two online nonlife insurers, Acko and Digit Insurance, have received the final approval from the insurance regulator to carry out operations The number of elderly people in India-- currently standing at 100 million--is set to grow at the fastest pace among all demographic groups. While India s overall population is likely to grow by 55% between 2000 and 2050, the corresponding figures for the 60+ and 80+ age groups are 326% and 700%, according to a report and thus our country will require robust health insurance programs to cater to this group Max Bupa Health Insurance has launched health ATMs - the first such innovation in the country. The machines conduct nonintrusive medical tests and issue health policies for up to INR1 million (US$15,400) without manual intervention. BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) has entered into an agreement to set up a joint venture with the world's largest insurance exchange Ebix to establish a robust distribution exchange platform for insurance products. The new venture to be branded as BSE-Ebix will launch the insurance distribution exchange platform, that will allow distribution outlets, stock brokers, wealth management advisors and financial institutions across the country to sell life and non-life insurance products, reported Press Trust of India. Insurance claims cannot be rejected if the reason for the delay in filing it is satisfactorily explained, the Indian Apex court has said in a recent ruling General Insurance Corporation (GIC) got listed in the stock exchange. The issue was sold between 11th & 13th October and was subscribed 1.38 times. GIC Re s issue is the third biggest in the history of the domestic markets after Coal India and Reliance Power. Coal India had raised Rs 15,470 crore in October 2010 and Reliance Power raised Rs 11,700 crore in 2008 Star Health & Allied Insurance, the first standalone health insurance company, has formally kicked off a sale process. The company is also the largest standalone health insurer in the country that also offers personal accident and travel insurance covers. 4Page

5 Did you know Apple is a popular fruit in the country grown mostly in Himachal and Jammu Kashmir. Contrary to popular perception, Apple was introduced in India in 1916 by Samuel Stokes in a place called Thanedar in Himachal Pradesh. Stokes was the heir to a really prosperous family in America. His family was the owner of Stokes and Parish Elevator Company which later merged with Otis Elevators. Stokes heart lied with working for under-privileged (Leprosy mission) and he also actively participated in the Indian Freedom movement. The first apple trees bore fruit in 1926 and Stokes died in Next time, when you bite one of your favourite fruit, remember it was Samuel Stokes who brought this fruit to India In 1932 he converted to Hinduism, taking the name "Satyananda" and was very active in India s freedom struggle for Independence from Great Britain. He was jailed for sedition and promoting hatred against the British government in 1921, becoming the only American to become a political prisoner of Great Britain in the freedom struggle. He died on 14 May 1946 after an extended illness shortly before Indian independence. Your feedback matters a lot, please do write to us at: feedback@zoominsurancebrokers.com The information contained herein is based on sources we believe are reliable and genuine and should be understood to be general risk management and insurance information only 5Page

General Insurance Corporation of India

IPO Note: General Insurance Corporation of India Industry: Insurance Reco: Subscribe Date: October 05, 2017 Issue Snapshot Company Name General Insurance Corporation of India Issue Opens October 11, 2017