AGCS targets growth in India
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) has launched a new branch office in Mumbai, India, having received the necessary reinsurance license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) earlier last year. The new reinsurance branch allows AGCS to further expand its presence across Asia Pacific to capitalise on growth opportunities in the Indian market and better serve global corporate clients with business interests in the country.
AGCS sees the India corporate insurance market as holding significant potential due to its size, low penetration rates, and expected growth of the economy. India is the world’s 11th largest insurance market and 5th in Asia behind China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan by premium volume. However, industry estimates show that India only ranks 73rd in the world with a meagre non-life insurance penetration rate of 0.93 percent of GDP, suggesting opportunities for future growth as the market matures. Indeed, industry estimates have predicted reinsurance premiums in India to increase at 11-14% CAGR, reaching USD 11 billion in premiums by 2022. Similarly, the India economy has surpassed China as the world’s fastest growing economy every year since 2014, with the exception of 2017.
AGCS India Branch will initially offer facultative, proportional, and non-proportional reinsurance solutions on the following lines of business: property, liability, marine, financial lines, construction & engineering, and energy. In particular, AGCS sees opportunities in large scale construction projects under the USD106 billion Bharatmala infrastructure development plan, as well as strong contributions from the automotive, electronics and high-tech communication industries, all of which complement AGCS’s areas of specialist expertise.
AGCS also expects particular demand for reinsurance capacity for cyber and initial public offering (IPO) insurance, offered under the financial lines line of business. Increased awareness and a strong digitalisation push amongst businesses have led to more enquiries on cyber risk and cover in the country.
