Perception on Privatisation of Insurance Sector in Rural India

The Indian insurance industry has taken a drastic transformation with the entry of private players who captured a significant market share (26.60 per cent) during 2005-06. The proposal to increase the FDI limit from 26per cent to 49per cent will further encourages the foreign companies to infuse fresh capital into the Indian insurance sector, thereby fueling more growth. Indian market is a practically untapped and therefore offers immense potential to all the players both new comers and old timers. Furthermore, the rise in purchasing power of people owing to high disposable income has also made the Indian market very attractive. The insurance companies today are leaving no stone unturned to entice the customers. Moreover, the competition has increased tremendously as growing number of competitors selling essentially the same products have entered the field from outside the traditional insurance industry. In such a competitive scenario the question arises on factors that decide the purchase of insurance products by an individual assumes paramount importance.