India's non-life insurance market will continue to flourish in the forecast period of 2011-2015. The competition is stiff in this arena as both private and public companies have markedly made their presence felt, according to Bricdata report.

Though public sector dominates the market, improved channel penetration and innovation would help private insurers to gain a major chunk of the market share, the report said.

There are various opportunities in the non-life insurance market space, such as motor insurance, which can be tapped further as the automobile sector is growing speedily.

The proposal to increase the country’s FDI limit to 49%, from the present 26%, will also create opportunities for innovation in terms of product offerings and distribution networks. So private non-life insurance companies should make most of this potential over the next five years.

The global economic crisis has not affected the fertile ground available for growth in the Indian non-life insurance market. However, the market continues to be dominated by public-sector insurers as all the private non-life insurers have not yet a substantial share in the total non-life insurance written premium.

While public-sector insurers are expected to dominate the market over the forecast period, private non-life insurers are expected to steadily increase their market shares, according to the report.

Despite the fact that the non-life insurance sector has been witnessing rapid growth during the 2006-2010 review period, it has not been able to penetrate into the rural areas where most of India’s population lives, due to lack of awareness and absence of a strong distribution network.

The report recommends that the need of the hour therefore is to make strategic business decisions using defining historic moments and then forecast market data related to the Indian non-life insurance industry and each sector within it.

Then there is a need to understand in depth the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities within the Indian non-life insurance industry and assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance industry, along with the reinsurance segment.

The growth opportunities and industry dynamics within key product categories should be identified. Besides, it is important to gain insights into key regulations governing the Indian insurance industry and its impact on companies and the industry’s future.

The full report ‘Non-Life Insurance in India, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2015’ is available from BRICdata. Click here for more details.