Tax breaks likely on home, accident cover

Soon you may be able to get tax deduction on buying an insurance plan for your home or a personal accident cover. The finance ministry is considering a proposal to give additional tax benefits for purchasing these general insurance policies. Read more

Bharti AXA General Insurance to focus on commercial line to drive future growth

Private sector general insurer Bharti AXA, which has crossed Rs 1,000-crore gross written premium mark for 2012, said it will come up in new products in commercial line. “In four years of operation, we have reached Rs 1,000 crore of gross written premium. Going ahead, we will concentrate on new products in the commercial line along with focus on southern and eastern region for future business growth,” Chief Executive Officer of Bharti AXA General Insurance, Amaranath Ananthanarayanan told reporters here. He said the company is light on commercial line, which was a deliberate policy of the company due to low premiums. Read more

General Insurance: Government, industry to prepare road map boosting general insurance

The government along with the industry will prepare a road map for improving penetration of the general insurance in the country which is less than one per cent, a senior official said.

“Our (general insurance) penetration rate is low. It is 0.7 per cent. How do we improve it to average standard which is 1.5 to 4 per cent? The road map is to be prepared by all of us”, Financial Services Secretary D K Mittal said.

He was speaking to reporters after meeting of the representatives of the general insurance industry with Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Read more