Context:
The number of micro-insurance agents at the end of FY24 stood at 102,000, of whom 19,166 belonged to public-sector life insurers and the rest to private ones.
Key Highlights:
- New business premium from micro-insurance in life insurance set its peak record for the first-time crossing the brink of Rs 10000 crores during 2023-24, according to an Irdai report.
- The total NBP thus exceeds by 23.5% the Rs. -892 million of fiscal 23.
- Private life insurers captured more than Rs 10,708.4 crore in this segment while accounted for Rs 152 crore by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
- At FY24-end, the number of micro-insurance agents was 102,000 with contributions from NGOs at 4.49 percent, self-help groups at 0.25 percent, micro finance institutions at 0.24 percent, business correspondents at 0.12 percent, and the rest at 94.90 percent.
- A micro-insurance agent is an individual or entity that distributes micro-insurance products to the target market.
- NGO is a non-profit organization that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address a social or political issue.
Micro Life Insurance Premium
- Micro insurance is an insurance product primarily devised to make financial protection affordable and accessible to low-income individuals or groups.
- It mainly targets the rural poor, informal sector workers as well as self-occupied people who do not have the chance to reach traditional life insurance products.
- The policy covers natural or accidental deaths.
Rule of Government and Supporting Policies
- Micro Insurance products are regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to ensure that minimum standards and protection of interest are being met out for the customer policyholder.
