STATUS OF MICROINSURANCE IN INDIA-A REVIEW

The term “Micro-insurance” was not very well known and well defined before 2000. After success of microfinance the concept has drawn the attention of academics, donors and different governmental agency. Over the last decade and even more so in the last few years a lot of works have been done in this field and many definitions have sprung up from various agencies.Several poverty alleviation programmes of different governments around the world have failed as poor are prone to various kinds of risks like natural calamities and health problems. The impacts of health and life risks have serious consequence on the earning capacity of the poor. So the poor are unable to come out of vicious cycle of poverty. Micro-insurance can be a potential instrument to tackle this problem. In India, the insurance penetration is very low. Around 21.9% of its population is below poverty line (Wikipedia). Hence, there is vast scope for Micro-insurance in India. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has come out with new micro- insurance regulation 2005 for development of micro-insurance in India. After formulation of thenew regulation there is remarkable growth in product development and business of micro-insurancein India.This paper reviews the status of micro-insurance in India.