Which are the Public Sector Insurance Companies in India?

India’s insurance industry has been through a long and rich journey. From the days of Chanakya’s introduction of insurance in ancient India to the nation’s independence, from only publicly owned insurance companies to the privatization and liberalization of the insurance sector in the 1990s, insurance in India has a rich history.

Post-independence, insurance companies in India were highly regulated and only owned and operated by the Government of India. There were a number of reasons behind this, but the most important one was ensuring that the interests of the policyholders were at the forefront. The government also used insurance as a social service at the time.

Following India’s liberalization efforts in the 1990s, the insurance sector in India was also liberalized in the year 2000. This is when private companies were allowed to participate in the Indian insurance sector. That being said, there are still a number of government-owned insurance companies that operate in India.

We will talk about them in this article. Mentioned within is a list of insurance companies that are owned by the Government of India.

• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India
• Oriental Insurance Company
• General Insurance Corporation
• Agriculture Insurance Company of India
• New India Assurance Company
• National Insurance
• United India Insurance
• Export Credit Guarantee Corporation

We will briefly talk about the operations and services of each of these companies below.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India

LIC of India is the largest life insurance company in India. In fact, it is the largest insurance company in the world when it comes to active policyholders. LIC was formulated in 1956 after Parliament passed the LIC Act. In fact, it is the largest insurance company in the world when it comes to active policyholders. LIC was formulated in 1956 after Parliament passed the LIC Act. 243 separate insurance companies in India were combined into one single entity, which was named the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

Products and services offered by LIC include:

• Life and term insurance policies
• Unit-linked life and term insurance policies
• Health insurance plans
• Pension and endowment plans
• Micro insurance

Oriental Insurance Company

Oriental Insurance Company is a wholly owned entity of GIC of India. Oriental Insurance was incorporated in 1947 and deals in the general insurance sector of India.

Products and services offered by Oriental Insurance include:

• Health insurance plans
• Motor insurance policies
• Accidental insurance policies
• Rural insurance
• Agricultural insurance schemes
• Property insurance
• Marine insurance

General Insurance Corporation

GIC provides reinsurance services to other insurance entities. This basically means that they insure the assets of other insurance companies. As of 2016, GIC was the only reinsurance company in India. Since 2016, there have been other entrants to the reinsurance business in India.

Products and services offered by GIC include: GIC provides reinsurance services to domestic as well as foreign insurance entities.

Agriculture Insurance Company of India

The AIC of India was founded in 2002 with a view to extending insurance products and services to the rural and agrarian economies of India. Their products are specially designed for farmers and their needs and requirements.

Products and services offered by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India include: AIC of India provides a variety of agriculture insurance products that cover almost every crop type in India.

New India Assurance Company

New India Assurance was founded in 1919 and subsequently nationalized in 1973. The company still operates as a government-owned insurance company, offering products and services in the Indian general insurance sector. It offers a wide array of more than 200 different general insurance products.

Products and services offered by New India Assurance include:

• Health insurance plans
• Motor insurance policies
• Rural insurance
• Travel insurance policies
• Accident insurance plans

National Insurance

Like Oriental Insurance, National Insurance is also a subsidiary of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India. The company is over 117 years old (as of 2023) and has its registered office in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Products and services offered by National Insurance include:

• Health insurance
• Motor insurance
• Marine insurance
• Engineering insurance
• Property insurance
• Rural insurance

United India Insurance

United India Insurance is a notable name in the Indian general insurance sector. The company has over 85 years of experience and over 1.2 crore customers, making it one of the largest public sector insurance companies in India.

Products and services offered by United India Insurance include:

• Health insurance
• Shopkeepers insurance
• Accident insurance
• Property insurance
• Industrial insurance
• Fire insurance

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation is a public sector insurance company that aims to provide export-related insurance products to exporters in India. They deal in export credit insurance and related services. The company was formulated with the view of extending insurance services to exporters, thereby encouraging exports from India.

Products and services offered by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation include:

• Export credit insurance services
• Buyer’s credit services
• Guarantee services
• Credit letters