Governing the Public Sector Undertaking insurers: Searching for the right way

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) refers to SIFIs as institutions whose distress or disorderly failure, because of their size, complexity and systemic interconnectedness, would cause significant disruption.

- ARUN AGARWAL

It is a critical for the government, who is a financier, policy maker, service provider, regulator and the purchaser of insurance, to work on appropriate policies, and governance structures that provide clarity and balance.

The government made an announcement on 1 February, 2018 proposing merger of three of its PSU General Insurers - National Insurance (NIC), United India Insurance (UII) and Oriental Insurance (OIC) Insurance companies into a single entity prior to being listed on Indian bourses. This was called-off in July 2020. During the Union Budget presentation on 1 February, 2021, another proposal was made to privatise one PSU General Insurer in 2021-22. The outcome is still awaited. Meanwhile, the four PSU General Insurers - New India Assurance (NIA), UII, OIC, and NIC - have lost more than 800 basis points (bps) in market share in last five years to their private counterparts. The PSU General Insurers have also been suffering underwriting losses (as at 31 March, 2023, OIC lost Rs 7477 crore, NIC lost Rs 6032 crore, NIA lost Rs 5377 crore, and the UIC lost Rs 6285 crore).The solvency ratios of the three lossmaking PSU Insurers are in the negative zones’ vis a vis the regulatorily required solvency margin: As at 31 March, 2023, OIC stood at (-) 0.96 per cent, NIC stood at (-) 0.29 per cent, and UII stood at (-) 0.29 per cent. The regulations allow a solvency ratio of 1.5.