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K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad March 25 Seeing a good potential in the rural insurance market, Micro Insurance Agency (MIA), the US-based insurance broking company, has decided to enter the Indian market.

The company is engaged in talks with some insurance companies and micro finance organisations to forge alliances.

"We are talking to a number of insurance companies, including Tata-AIG and a reinsure company in the West," Mr Richard Leftley, President of Micro Insurance Agency Holdings LLC, told Business Line.

"We need to have groups that can offer access to a minimum of one lakh people," he said.

With regard to microfinance organisations, it is in touch with Basix and SKS Microfinance.

Mr Leftley attended a daylong CII conference here on `Sustainable integrated development of small farmers and Indian agriculture - A road map on public private farmer partnership.

The company is engaged in product design and pricing. While distributing the products through a range of media, it offers back office administration services too. With operations in 10 countries in Africa and Asia, it currently serves 31 lakh lives.

The company, which specialised in providing cover to low-income groups, said margins in this segment are very thin as premiums range from 30 cents to $2 a month.

He said percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) on insurance spending in India was very low at just 3.14 per cent ($22.7 per capita) as against the global average of 7.52 per cent ($518.5).

More disturbing is the fact that the number of poor with access to some insurance cover is very low.

More Stories on : General Insurance | Rural Development

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