Aathira Varier

Ganpati pandals step up insurance cover as festival risks mount

Oriental Insurance has covered around 100 Ganpati pandals this year, up from 20-30 last year, as organisers seek protection against calamities and accidents

RenewBuy-InsuranceDekho merged entity plans to deepen presence across India

Combined entity plans to expand its agency network and distribute insurance, mutual funds and loans, while targeting deeper penetration across India's villages

ARCs turn to AI, analytics as retail recovery business gains scale

Arcil and other asset reconstruction companies are exploring AI across compliance, collections and recovery analytics as larger retail portfolios increase data volumes and operational complexity

Misselling has to be addressed at the point of sale: LIC's Doraiswamy

Doraiswamy spoke about LIC's plans to maintain its VNB margin at 24-25% and target double-digit growth, its investment strategy and distribution network

Bank stocks rise as strong FCNR (B) inflows boost liquidity outlook

RBI data showed banks mobilised $127.2 billion through FCNR(B) deposits, while analysts expect the inflows to support liquidity, credit growth and lower rates

InsuranceDekho, RenewBuy merge to form largest AI-led insurance platform

Combined entity has a premium book exceeding Rs 6,600 crore, over 6 lakh digital partners and a presence across 98.57 per cent of India's pin codes

Bancassurance will be key to the insurance for all by 2047 goal: Padalkar

HDFC Life CEO Vibha Padalkar expects growth to return to early teens, with bancassurance, term insurance and non-par products driving expansion

Irdai plans public insurance registry to bridge data gaps, widen coverage

Proposed registry will provide an interoperable access layer to verified insurance data, helping streamline policy servicing, claims and regulatory oversight

Private banks' deposit growth outpaces PSBs' by nearly 350 bps at June-end

Private banks' deposits grew 13.8% in June, outpacing PSBs at 10.3%, while bank credit surged 16.5%, widening the gap with deposit growth

Private bank CEO exits put board-management relationship under lens

Differences between boards and management over priorities and strategy are prompting some private bank CEOs to opt out, raising concerns over leadership continuity

July per-credit card spending slips 2.4% Y-o-Y, issuances outpace transaction

Average spending per card continues to face downward pressure as the pace of card issuance outpaces aggregate transaction volume growth

General insurers may revise fire premiums as discounts weigh on profits

Fire insurance premiums fell 28.5 per cent YoY in April-July as steep discounts and strong reinsurance capacity intensified competition and raised profitability concerns

IndiaFirst Life is not likely to see drop in headcount from AI adoption

The company said IndiaFirst Life is likely to revisit its IPO plans after regulatory approval for BNP Paribas Cardif's stake acquisition and the new shareholder structure is in place

Jio Financial bets on AI, global partnerships to drive next phase of growth

Jio Credit's AUM has crossed ₹30,000 crore and JioBlackRock's ₹21,000 crore as JFS expands lending, investments and insurance through technology and global alliances

Outward remittances under LRS surge 20% to $2.5 billion in June: RBI data

International travel and overseas investments drove the increase in June, with equity and debt investment remittances more than doubling year-on-year to $456.7 million

₹2 trillion credit card spending a month becomes the new normal: RBI data

Average monthly credit card spends rose to Rs 2 trillion in January-July 2026 from Rs 1.93 trillion in 2025, while cards outstanding increased to 122.86 million

Irdai takes firm stance on insurers breaching expense management limits

Regulator's action on EOM breaches signals tighter scrutiny of operating and distribution costs, though experts expect limited short-term business impact

Non-life insurance premium growth slowed to 5.7% in July, shows data

Gross direct premium underwritten by non-life insurers rose to ₹31,397.6 crore in July, as growth at multi-line general insurers moderated from the previous month

Bajaj Life Insurance's Tarun Chugh top paid life insurer CEO in FY26

Bajaj Life Insurance CEO Tarun Chugh topped India's life insurance sector with ₹33.66 crore in FY26 as Irdai tightens scrutiny of executive pay and links incentives to customer outcomes

SC's motor TP direction may raise insurer commissions, consumer costs

The Supreme Court's proposed longer mandatory cover could raise upfront costs and insurer commission pressure, while doing little to address uninsured commercial vehicles