TWO INSURANCE COMPANIES SAY INDUSTRY IS APPROACHING A SHORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUMBAI 000369 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV PGOV IN SUBJECT: TWO INSURANCE COMPANIES SAY INDUSTRY IS APPROACHING A SHORT TERM GROWTH LIMIT MUMBAI 00000369 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) Summary: The insurance industry, one of the success stories of India's financial sector liberalization, maybe reaching a short-term growth limit. According to industry executives, the reason for this upcoming slowdown is not lower demand, but limited capital due to the 26% limit placed on foreign direct investment in the industry. The two executives told Congenoffs and the Treasury Attachi that this restriction effectively limited the ability to raise capital in this capital-hungry business. They noted that the industry is still in its nascent stages with very low market penetration, nearly a decade after the opening of the sector. Despite recent statements from politicians stating a FDI hike was being considered, they doubted that the FDI cap can be raised soon. Despite the current restrictions, the executives commented that insurance has grown to be a USD30 billion business. Also, they mentioned that industry players have learned to work within the investment restrictions set by the government though the lack of a proper corporate bond market was a hurdle they wished could be fixed. As it grows and Indian partners learn from foreign partners, the industry is becoming more inclusive and innovative. End Summary. FDI restriction ¶2. (U) FDI up to 26 percent is permitted subject to obtaining a license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA),the regulator for the insurance industry. A plan to increase this cap and allow participation to 49 percent had been blocked by the Left Front parties that supported Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's United Progressive Alliance. ¶3. (U) Prasad Prabhu, Head-Debt Funds Management at IDBI Fortis Life Insurance company, a joint venture between three financial conglomerates -- IDBI (an Indian development and commercial bank),Federal Bank (an Indian private sector bank) and Fortis (a European Bancassurer) affirmed the need for more capital especially in the case of life insurance companies as expenses generally are front loaded and premiums are received over a long period of time. [Note: Like a bank, an insurance firm must have a certain ratio of capital coverage of its liabilities, hence the need for capital to accept new policies. End note.] Vishakha Mulye, Executive Director, ICICI Lombard, a general insurance company, noted that most companies had been growing quickly; however such growth could not be sustained unless large capital infusion was allowed. She suggested that raising the FDI limit was the easiest way to allow such capital infusion. She holds that the current non-action by the central government effectively acted as a curb to growth for the industry. The penetration level for life insurance is 4.5 percent and non life is 0.6 percent. "Given such low penetration levels, the potential for the insurance sector to grow was tremendous and hence the government would have no choice but to liberalize its policy", she added. ¶4. (U) Mulye affirmed that she and most market participants would want to see that bill passed by the Parliament. She added that the Bill contained financial reforms other than the relaxation in FDI cap that would turn out to be beneficial for the industry on the whole. ¶5. (U) Prabhu doubted that the FDI cap would be removed, stating the legislation was not possible to pass in this government's term due to unrelated political constraints. Nevertheless, of the 21 private life insurance companies 20 are in joint ventures with foreign companies. Hence he felt only one, Sahara Life, might reject the idea of foreign capital infusion on the basis of not helping the competition. ¶6. (SBU) Saibal Choudhury, head of Government Relations for MetLife India, felt differently, stating that JV firms whose local promoters have deep pockets, like Reliance Life or ICICI-Prudential, would prefer not to raise the cap. In fact some, like Reliance Life, may only have a few percent FDI in their JV, demonstrating that the 26% cap does not constrain them. He asserted their preference that competitors not have access to cheaper capital through FDI, and this has motivated them to lobby against lifting the cap. Industry structure and growth reality ¶7. (U) Prabhu described the size of the industry, based on annual collection of premiums, at USD 30 billion for FY 07-08. He broke down the premiums to USD 22 billion from life insurance and USD 8 billion from non-life insurance. A decade ago India had 1 life insurance company, the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation, and 4 state-owned general insurance companies. He MUMBAI 00000369 002.2 OF 003 proudly noted today the sector consists of twenty different players in life insurance alone. LIC is the largest public sector company with ICICI Prudential being the biggest private player. Unit linked insurance policies (ULIPS) are the most popular insurance product today. ULIPS resemble defined contribution pension plans - a combination of a wealth management product and insurance cover. He revealed that 80 percent of IDBI Fortis's business is from ULIPS and the balance came from traditional life insurance policies. ¶8. (U) Mulye told Congenoffs that most general insurance companies were profitable or at least cash flow positive. However life insurance companies, in general, were making losses, the only exception being the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). LIC's profits come from booking capital gains amassed on its investments rather than operating profit, having had the opportunity to invest in Indian equities since the SENSEX was below 1000 (currently hovering in the 13,000-16,000 range). She added that insurance industry growth in the last year had slowed down to 11 percent from the 26 percent of the previous year, but predicted 14 percent growth for this quarter. Also with the landmark move of liberalizing previously fixed general insurance premiums from January 1, 2008, all general insurance companies are using premium pricing as a competitive tool. Hence margins are suffering due to the cut-throat competitive premium pricing. Public sector firms can be especially aggressive because of the lack of a profit motive. To a degree this reflects the infancy of risk modeling in the industry, having never had to do so under fixed premiums. She expected that as the market matured over the medium term this would be corrected. Investment patterns ¶9. (U) S. Gopalkrishnan, head of investments at ICICI Lombard, chalked out the investment pattern for a general insurance company. The IRDA dictates that 75 percent of the investments have to be in an approved investment, i.e in debt securities having a grade of AA and above. Out of this 75 percent, 30 percent are to be invested in government securities-- 20 percent in G-secs and 10 percent in oil bonds and fertilizer bonds, -- and 15 percent in the priority sector-- 5 percent in housing and 10 percent in other priority sectors like power, roads, railway, etc. These norms might change under the pending legislation. He did convey an interest in greater corporate bond investment but expressed concern over a lack of an interest rate futures market and inadequate transparency in the corporate bond market. ¶10. (U) Prabhu mentioned that ULIPs are a mechanism that avoid investment allocation dictates, since funds are managed by individual policy-holders rather than the firm. He agreed that there was a market for corporate bonds but right now no trading infrastructure was in place. Hence secondary markets were less liquid with bonds being held-to-maturity. He pitched for a single, screen-based trading platform, repos and a formal settlement and clearing house. He also expected India would move towards new solvency norms in the model of what is currently being done in Europe but only after this process is in a more mature state in Europe. Inclusion and Innovation ¶11. (U) "The Regulator has been encouraging inclusion of the rural sector", informed Prabhu, "however such inclusion is a difficult task". First due to the small ticket size (each plan would be of small amounts) the cost of providing them would shoot up and secondly each plan would have to be designed in a simple and easy to understand manner. Recent news reports indicate the government plans to extend life insurance to all 21 million participants in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). An example of small ticket sizes, this program offered through LIC will cost Rs 200 (USD 5) per year with a payout of Rs 75,000 (USD 1750)for death. ¶12. (U) Prabhu continued that opportunities existed in both life and non-life segments. Foreign participation has already brought in a mix of capital and innovation. As an example, he listed ULIPS, as likely to fuel the industry's growth. He also cited his company's new product, called Mortgage Reduction Payment, which is insurance to pay a person's mortgage in case of death. He stated that this innovation came from his Belgian partners, today being sold through Indian domestic banks at the time of mortgage origination. The insurance industry has even found a way around restrictions on private firms offering pensions by offering a pension-like product with an insurance element. MUMBAI 00000369 003.2 OF 003 Comment: ¶13. (U) The growth in the Indian insurance sector was launched by allowing private entry at freely competitive rates. Foreign participants were key to that growth, and will be key to further market development. With a possible short-term growth slowdown on the horizon, the current coalition in Parliament appears to be considering bringing the industry and its future course to the forefront of its agenda. Though insurance executives are doubtful given the short window the current government has, this would be a welcome relief and give insurance companies the impetus that they need to continue their rapid growth in a largely untapped market. FOLMSBEE