In this article we shall see about Insurance in India before and after independence to date, and list of All Insurance Companies in India, both Life Insurance companies and Non-Life Insurance companies or General Insurance companies. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is a statutory body that promotes and regulates all types of Insurance companies in India. For an insurance company to do business India, first it should be recognied by IRDAI.
Insurance in India before Independence
Oriental Insurance Company was the first insurance company in India. It was started in 1818 by Anitha Bhavsar and it only catered to the needs of the Europeans in India. So it cant be called as an Indian Insurance Company. Bombay Mutual Life Insurance Society, started in 1870, is the first Indian Insurance company that insured Indians. By the time of independence, there are about 245 Insurance companies in India (both Indian and Foreign). National Insurance Company, founded in 1906, is the oldest existing Insurance company in India.
Insurance in India After Independence
In 1956, Government of India passed an Ordinance Nationalising the Life Insurance Sector and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was formed.
With the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act of 1972, the General Insurance business was nationalised. Existing 107 General Insurers were grouped into 4 companies – National Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was formed with these 4 companies as its subsidiaries.
Insurance sector was monopolised by two state Insurance corporation LIC and GIC till the year 2000 when the Insurance sector was privatized. Today there are 24 private life insurance companies and 34 private Non-Life Insurance Companies in India.
Knowledge about insurance companies is important for candidates appearing for Insurance exams such as LIC, NICL, NIACL and IRDA. It is also relevant for other government exams such as RRB exams, SSC exams, Bank Exams etc. Questions related to Insurance Companies in India are seen in the General Awareness Section of these exams. Lets look into these now.
Insurance Companies in India
Life Insurance Companies in India |
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| Life Insurance Company | Headquarters | Sector | Founding year |
| Life Insurance Corporation of India | Mumbai | Public | 1956 |
| HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2000 |
| Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Delhi | Private | 2000 |
| ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2000 |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2000 |
| Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| TATA AIA Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| Exide Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Bangalore | Private | 2001 |
| Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Pune | Private | 2001 |
| PNB MetLife India Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| Aviva Life Insurance Company India Ltd. | Gurugram | Private | 2002 |
| Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Lucknow | Private | 2004 |
| Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Hyderabad | Private | 2005 |
| Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2007 |
| Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2008 |
| IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2008 |
| Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Gurugram | Private | 2008 |
| Aegon Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2008 |
| Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2008 |
| Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2008 |
| IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2009 |
| Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Mumbai | Private | 2011 |
Non-Life Insurance Companies In India |
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| Non-Insurance Company | Headquarters | Sector | Founding year |
| National Insurance Company | Kolkata | Public | 1906 |
| Cigna TTK | Mumbai | Private | 1918 |
| New India Assurance | Mumbai | Public | 1919 |
| United India Insurance Company | Chennai | Public | 1938 |
| The Oriental Insurance Company | New Delhi | Public | 1947 |
| Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India | Mumbai | Private | 1957 |
| IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance | Gurugram | Private | 2000 |
| Reliance General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2000 |
| Royal Sundaram General Insurance | Chennai | Private | 2000 |
| Bajaj Allianz General Insurance | Pune | Private | 2001 |
| Cholamandalam MS General Insurance | Chennai | Private | 2001 |
| ICICI Lombard | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| Tata AIG General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2001 |
| Agriculture Insurance Company of India | New Delhi | Public | 2002 |
| HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company | Mumbai | Private | 2002 |
| Star Health and Allied Insurance | Chennai | Private | 2006 |
| Apollo Munich Health Insurance | Gurgaon | Private | 2007 |
| Future Generali India Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2007 |
| Raheja QBE General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2007 |
| Universal Sompo General Insurance Company | Mumbai | Private | 2007 |
| Bharti AXA General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2008 |
| Max Bupa Health Insurance | New Delhi | Private | 2008 |
| Shriram General Insurance | Jaipur | Private | 2008 |
| Magma HDI General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2009 |
| SBI General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2010 |
| Religare Health Insurance Company Limited | Gurgaon | Private | 2012 |
| Liberty General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2013 |
| Aditya Birla Health Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2015 |
| Kotak Mahindra General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2015 |
| Acko General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2016 |
| DHFL General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2016 |
| Digit Insurance | Pune | Private | 2017 |
| Edelweiss General Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2017 |
| Reliance Health Insurance | Mumbai | Private | 2017 |