COVID-19 Impact on Indian Insurance: Press Release - PwC India

Mumbai, 17 June, 2020: PwC India, in it its study called "COVID-19 Impact on the Indian Insurance industry" examines the possible impact of the COVID-19 situation on various aspects of the industry and the opportunity for insurance players to innovate and serve the evolving needs of a more informed population.

India is among the top worst-hit countries by COVID-19. According to the study, the CFOs surveyed by PwC affirm that factors like reduced consumption, reduced workforce productivity and a heavy financial impact are the major concerns for the insurance industry. The two productive months for the insurance industry – March for life insurance and April for non-life corporate renewals – have both seen a significant hit and the difficulty continues in the month of May in mobilising the distribution channels.

The PwC report focuses on both short-term considerations for the insurance sector to respond to the COVID-19 crisis as well as long term solutions that could bring the industry on a more solid platform. The immediate focus needs to be on the business continuity plan, employee safety and well-being, stakeholder communication, and the like.  Furthermore, companies must ensure that not only is their IT infrastructure agile but also cyber security equipped. 

Joydeep Roy, Leader– Insurance, PwC India & Global Leader- Insurance Digital Assets - said, "The Indian Insurance industry has proven their focus on technology for operations and customer service to everyone by moving entire operations to remote-working reasonably smoothly.  In an under penetrated country like India, the value of insurance has always been deprioritised by the consumer. It is time the population starts to take notice and starts buying insurance. For the Insurance companies, the next few months will be difficult in returning to the high speed market growth highways they are used to for long, and they have to find innovative solutions to stay profitable and resilient. They have to be careful in reducing costs as that may dampen their growth engines for the future, and innovation will be the order of the day. Focusing on existing customers and making them add adequate risk covers should be prioritised in the short term. Upskilling employees and distribution to use the digital assets available to them has to become a priority - while all our future projections of Insurance 2025 undergoes a rapid change - to a more intrinsically relevant industry to society.

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