De-Tariffication will boost Insurance sector: C S Rao

Mumbai, Oct 9 (UNI) Once de-tariffing takes place, the insurance sector will witness phenomenal growth, said C S Rao, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory&Development Authority (IRDA) today at the Tenth Insurance Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Elaborating on the summit theme, 'Development of Insurance: The Road Ahead,' Mr Rao said that with the Indian economy growing, the insurance sector should continue to register high rates of growth for the next five to six years. ''Several new players are looking at India. The Indian success story is going to be repeated and they want to be a part of it,'' he emphasized.

According to Mr Rao, intermediaries will gain prominence during the years to come. People will demand and get better service, he said, while underlining education and training as the key areas of concern. ''CEOs should take the training of the sales force more seriously. There is a shortage of professionals and market conduct is another issue that needs to be addressed,'' he pointed out.

In his welcome remarks, Deepak M Satwalekar, Chairman, CII National Committee on Insurance&Pensions&Managing Director&CEO, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd, highlighted how the face of the insurance industry has changed radically in recent times. ''Service standards have been a high point in the fledgling sector. Distribution has seen a sea change. The number of channels has been broadened. Insurers have deepened servicing points also,'' he explained.

Mr Satwalekar listed five major issues that the industry needs to address - building confidence of all stakeholders, regulations convergence, risk management, applying International accounting standards and the shortage of skilled and trained human resources.

S V Mony, Summit Co-Convener&Secretary General, Life Insurance Council, said that the Indian insurance industry is at an important stage of development. ''Competition is serious and it is getting more serious. The industry has to play a role in handling market issues.

Distribution will be one of the major challenges; it is all about giving service to the customer,'' he said.

K N Bhandari, Summit Co-Convener&Secretary General, General Insurance Council, termed the phenomenal growth being witnessed by the insurance sector as a ''challenge.'' ''Are we equipped to deal with this? Are we investing in human resources adequately? We must identify potential road blocks or impediments,'' he emphasized.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Senior Director, Confederation of Indian Industry, summed up the proceedings and highlighted the key issues that would be deliberated over the two-day summit.

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