Marsh Granted India Brokerage License

NU Online News Service, March 4, 2:55 p.m.EST?Marsh Inc. announced it was granted an insurancebrokerage license by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authorityof India.

The firm said it is among the first foreign insurance brokers toreceive a license to transact business in India and that it willimmediately begin to provide both insurance and reinsurancebrokering services to clients through Marsh India Private Limited,a joint-venture business with its local partner Rampart Group.

"We are pleased to do business in India. There have been a lotof changes in India in the past two, three years when foreigninsurers began operating and created additional capacity andadditional choices for consumers," said Bill Jones, managingdirector of Marsh India in Mumbai.

The firm has already been offering reinsurance brokerageservices to Indian clients from its London office for years. Butnow, Marsh will be able to deliver a comprehensive range ofservices such as risk assessment, insurance placement, claimsservicing, loss prevention and risk control to clients in India,Mr. Jones told National Underwriter.

"We want to be here now and for many years to come," said Mr.Jones, who pointed out India's growing population ofone-billion-plus people and the country's economic growth, as wellas a significant increase in premiums in its insuranceindustry.

But foreign insurance brokers have not been licensed to dobusiness there until now because of the Indian Parliament'sreluctance to approve an amendment to the 1938 Insurance Act tocorrect a provision that disallowed charging of commission byinsurance intermediaries.

Some foreign brokerages like Marsh, however, have had anindirect presence in India for some years because they operated inthe reinsurance market liaison offices and alliances with localfirms.

But even with new brokerage licenses, foreign brokers need tochoose an Indian partner to enter the market and are allowed onlyup to a 26-percent stake in the partnership to form a brokeragefirm in India.

Marsh India's principal business focus will include indigenouscompanies, public entities and multinational companies. It willalso emphasize specialization in power and energy, infrastructure,construction, financial and professional services, and creditinsurance, Marsh stated.

Marsh India now has a core staff of insurance brokerageprofessionals in its Mumbai office and plans to expand operationsto New Delhi and Bangalore in the near future. "These plansdemonstrate our confidence in, and commitment to, India's insurancemarket," Mr. Jones said.