Among the many industries hit hard by the Covid 19 pandemic, the insurance industry was one of the worst hit. The pandemic had resulted in major business losses for the insurers, owing to a sharp rise in claims, which had consequently put the companies under a lot of pressure. Now, reportedly, insurance companies are also considering on raising the premium rates to tide over the crisis.
That said, the insurance industry is now looking forward to exponential growth in the coming period, according to a recent study conducted by the Insurance Institute of India.
As many as two-thirds of the respondents (66 per cents) were positive that the industry was resilient enough about business reviving in the post-Covid world, while 24 per cent were very optimistic about business growth in the post-covid scenario.
As many as 70 per cent of the respondents suggested a normal growth for the insurance industry as a whole, while 24 per cent of those surveyed said the industry will see exponential business growth.
But a vast 90 per cent respondents were of the opinion that the Indian insurance industry was resilient enough to not be greatly affected by the Covid 19 crisis. None of those surveyed suggested a negative or a stagnated growth in the post covid world.
The survey involved 29 organisations, including 22 insurers, two reinsurers, third party administrators, and academics each, and one ombudsman. The 22 insurance providers included eight life insurance companies, 11 general insurance companies, one health insurer, and two specialised insurance providers.
The respondents included the senior management of the insurance companies who devise strategies for their companies to tackle the new situation that has arisen because of the covid crisis. They include, among others, CEOs, CFOs, CMOs and other senior management officials from the respective companies.
Despite the positive outlook, the insurance providers are still wary that new and emerging variants of covid, such as the XE variant, could adversely hamper their business operations.
An equal majority were divided that the covid crisis was unpredictable and could well end by the year-end, or could also continue for a few years, but not affect the economy that much.
