Mumbai: Simplification and innovation in insurance products alone can ensure that every Indian is insured in the years ahead even though the industry has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 11% for the past five years, said Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India chairman.

The protection gap is at 83% and nearly half the automobiles on the road are uninsured and this could be addressed mostly through tech-based solutions, said Debasish Panda, chairman, IRDAI, at the 18th insurance summit.

Tech-based coverages and region-based coverages have to be looked into because one-size-fits-all is no longer applicable, he said.

Separately,

chairman MR Kumar said that even today only 3 in every 100 in the country have a life insurance policy.

Even though penetration increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, it still is very low and needs to be worked upon by industry leaders, he said. In 2021, India also witnessed the highest growth in high-net-worth individuals, which led to a huge increase in the consumers’ appetite for better and more customised insurance products.