IRDAI warns brokers on deal rush

Mumbai: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ( IRDAI) has raised concerns over a surge in merger, acquisition, and demerger activities in the insurance distribution space, cautioning brokers against adopting sharp practices to solely inflate their valuations.

"We have been witnessing record activity among brokers and other distribution intermediaries," said Satyajit Tripathy, member (distribution), IRDAI, at an Insurance Brokers Association of India event. "While this is fine by all means, I must add a word of caution that with increased growth being seen, we need not be adopting what we call as sharp practices to increase valuation, get listed, and to do business in a way, which may in the long run prove detrimental to the whole ecosystem."

The inflow of private equity capital into insurance broking has risen about 20x between 2011-17 and 2018-24 to reach $4.8 billion. Indian insurance broking has 735 licensed brokers of which the top 36 drive over 85% of revenue, implying a long tail of brokers that have not scaled, according to a report by IBAI and McKinsey.

Tripathy acknowledged the significant value addition brought in by brokers to the industry in the last 4-5 years, particularly post-Covid.

At the event, the government urged over 700 insurance brokers to deepen insurance reach across the country and called on brokers to ensure access to affordable and appropriate insurance solutions for every Indian whether self-employed, salaried, agricultural, or industrial.

"There is a vast untapped potential in Type 2 and Type 3 cities, agricultural and rural zones, in unorganised sectors, and among small businesses," said M Nagaraju, secretary, Department of Financial Services. "We believe insurance brokers can possibly increase awareness about the importance and availability of insurance in remote and low-income populations."