IRDA member decries low penetration of general insurance

The low penetration of general insurance companies is a major concern, said M Ramaprasad, member, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.

Speaking at a meeting organised by the National Insurance Academy, Pune, he said the non-life penetration was 0.7 per cent of the gross domestic product, a very low number. “The stagnant rate of penetration in non-life insurance is an issue,” he said.

Saying general insurance premiums were expected to cross Rs 60,000 crore this year, Ramaprasad said mis-selling of products and customers’ low knowledge of products were still issues plaguing the sector.

“Through our system of monitoring grievances, we find about 60 per cent of customer grievances related to mis-selling of products to them,” he said.

For the general insurance sector to prosper, it needed good product designers, transparency and products the common citizen can understand, he said.