Insurance industry seeks stability amid regulatory and tax turbulence

Regulatory shocks and withdrawal of a tax benefit slowed down growth, nudging firms to focus on affordability, efficiency and chasing more customers

Recent years have been turbulent for the insurance industry due to direct and indirect tax reforms, regulatory overhaul and other external pressures. The events cumulatively slowed growth to single digits from the high teens seen earlier. With the dust settling on the measures taken to mitigate the impact of the withdrawal of input tax credit (ITC), insurers are hopeful that the firefighting is behind them and they can now shift gears and focus on growth. They aim to build on the opportunity created by the goods and services tax (GST) rationalisation, which has made protection and health products more affordable