Reforming the Private Insurance Industry

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Arthur M. Feldman
Author(s):  
Vikas Gautam

Customer relationship management in the insurance industry is in the nascent stage. Firms are framing new strategies to combat stiff competition. Public and private insurance companies are implementing customer relationship programs to attract more customers and retain existing customers. The objectives of this study are (1) to study the customer relationship management program of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, and (2) to assess the effectiveness of this customer relationship management program. The study is based on the opinion scores of 182 policyholders of Life Insurance Corporation of India, who have been with the company for more than the last five years. Based on the average opinion scores before and after the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management program, it was concluded that the program is effective, which was evidenced by the results obtained from statistical analysis (Paired sample t-test).


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (S2) ◽  
pp. 40-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Christianson

This article discusses the disability insurance industry in order to provide context regarding the potential impact of genetic testing on disability insurance. It describes disability income insurance, exploring both the protection it offers and its main contract provisions. It goes on to describe the private insurance market and the differences between group and individual insurance, and concludes with implications of genetic testing with respect to the private disability insurance market. The individual disability income insurance market is theoretically of great interest as a matter of public policy since there is potential for unfair discrimination through genetic testing although this remains very unlikely as a matter of practice, however.It is more likely that a person will become disabled than die before age 65. The loss of income during a disability can be quite devastating. In contrast to the high risk and high impact of disability are the realities of the disability market.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Geyman

The corporate, largely privatized market-based U.S. health care system is deteriorating in terms of increasing costs, decreasing access, unacceptable quality of care, inequities, and disparities. Reform efforts to establish universal insurance coverage have failed on six occasions over the last century, largely through opposition of corporate stakeholders in the medical-industrial complex. This article provides historical perspective to previous reform attempts, updates the current battle between Republicans and Democrats over repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), and compares three financing alternatives—continuation of the ACA; its replacement by a Republican plan (the House’s American Health Care Act or its Senate counterpart, the Better Care Reconciliation Act); and single-payer national health insurance (NHI or Medicare for All). Markers are described that reveal the extent of the current crisis in U.S. health care. Evidence is presented that the private insurance industry, increasingly dependent on bailout by the government, is in a “death spiral.” NHI is gaining increasing public support as the only financing alternative to provide universal coverage. Nine lessons that are still unlearned in the United States concerning health care are discussed, together with future prospects to establish universal coverage in this embattled and changing political environment.


The life insurance industry of India has 23 licenses -holders running their business in this sector. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI), which is the only player in the public sector, the remaining area is covered by the 22 private sector companies. IRDAI has taken initiatives to provide effective grievance handling machinery to address the grievances of policyholders. Consumer dispute Redressal agency is efficient for handling complaints and easily accessible. This paper examines the regulations and guidelines framed by IRDAI for effective grievance handling and the study would provide some insights into the areas, specifically status of grievances in public and private life insurance companies (LIC, SBI, HDFC, Reliance Life and Bajaj Allianz) and the functioning of consumer dispute Redressal agencies of life insurance sectors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-246
Author(s):  
Piers R WILLIAMSON ◽  
Miori NAGASHIMA

AbstractIndividual private insurance is a risk-management practice that plays an important role in many people’s lives. Despite its prominence in industrialised countries, it remains an understudied area in Japan studies, where most work has focused on social insurance. Using insights from the governmentality literature, and in particular François Ewald’s concept of an ‘insurantial imaginary’, we examine the changing perceptions towards private non-life insurance during Japan’s period of high growth and rapid modernisation (1964–1992). While individual private insurance developed in Western Europe and the US over hundreds of years, it did not take off in Japan until the early postwar era. We argue that, like in Western Europe and the US, individual private insurance in Japan had to overcome normative resistance. The norms in Japan, however, were different. To illustrate this, we look at winning essays from an annual high school writing competition run by the Japanese insurance industry as part of a wide-ranging publicity campaign. We conclude that private insurance in Japan passed through four stages of moral understanding to successfully incorporate existing counter norms centred on ‘sincerity’ and ‘mutual aid’. What was initially viewed with ‘distrust’ ended up as a supposed manifestation of the Japanese ‘spirit’.


Author(s):  
Vikas Gautam

Customer relationship management in the insurance industry is in the nascent stage. Firms are framing new strategies to combat stiff competition. Public and private insurance companies are implementing customer relationship programs to attract more customers and retain existing customers. The objectives of this study are (1) to study the customer relationship management program of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, and (2) to assess the effectiveness of this customer relationship management program. The study is based on the opinion scores of 182 policyholders of Life Insurance Corporation of India, who have been with the company for more than the last five years. Based on the average opinion scores before and after the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management program, it was concluded that the program is effective, which was evidenced by the results obtained from statistical analysis (Paired sample t-test).


2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Krishnamurthy ◽  
S V Mony ◽  
Nani Jhaveri ◽  
Sandeep Bakhshi ◽  
Ramesh Bhat ◽  
...  

With the liberalization and entry of private companies in insurance, the Indian insurance sector has started showing signs of significant change. Within a short span of time, private insurance has acquired 13 per cent of the life insurance market and 14 per cent of non-life market. However, there is still a huge untapped demand for insurance. Insurance companies have a pivotal role in offering insurance products which meet the requirements of the people and, at the same time, are affordable. Some of the challenges faced by the insurance sector pertain to the demand conditions, competition in the sector, product innovations, delivery and distribution systems, use of technology, and regulation. To understand the growth and development and the future prospects of this sector, this colloquium addresses the following issues: What will be the demand for insurance? What types of innovative strategies of insurance education and awareness will we require to encourage the Indian consumers? With the changes following bank participation in insurance, will the nature of competition in this sector intensify? What kind of competitive and risk pressures will the insurance businesses experience? What are their implications for profitability, margins, and efficiency? The average size of the polices will continuously decline as the insurance companies increase the geographic coverage. As a result of this, the intermediation costs will go up. What are the implications of these on average costs? What will be the product market scenario? Has the insurance sector benefited from the knowledge base of global companies? To what extent have the technology gains in telecommunications, computer information, and data processing contributed to increased efficiency and productivity of insurance companies? The following key points emerged from the responses of the panelists: The future in life insurance will be determined by the increase in pure protection products, a refreshing look at unit-linked plans, launch of customized plans, and improved service levels. The insurance sector will grow steadily rather than rapidly. While the law and regulations are in place to ensure financial strength and solvency of insurers, the regulator's challenge lies in monitoring compliance. The opportunity for financial services is increasing all over the world. Big domestic companies with significant market shares in the local countries will have the opportunities to commence business in other markets. Keeping in mind the complexities of the industry, multi-product, multi-channel, and multisegment route needs to be followed for growth. The challenge of successfully implementing bancassurance lies in training the staff, integrating the insurance products, and ensuring best quality service. Agents in the insurance sector are critical for its success and, in order to gain competitive advantage, quality people are needed but attracting and retaining agents is a challenge.


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