Concept and origine of Insurance

The entire general insurance business in India was nationalised by General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (GIBNA). The Government of India (GOI), through Nationalisation took over the shares of 55 Indian insurance companies and the undertakings of 52 insurers carrying on general insurance business.

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was formed in pursuance of Section 9(1) of GIBNA. It was incorporated on 22 November 1972 under the Companies Act, 1956 as a private company limited by shares. GIC was formed for the purpose of superintending, controlling and carrying on the business of general insurance.

As soon as GIC was formed, GOI transferred all the shares it held of the general insurance companies to GIC. Simultaneously, the nationalised undertakings were transferred to Indian insurance companies. After a process of mergers among Indian insurance companies, four companies were left as fully owned subsidiary companies of GIC (1) National Insurance Company Limited, (2) The New India Assurance Company Limited, (3) The Oriental Insurance Company Limited, and (4) United India Insurance Company Limited

The next landmark happened on 19th April 2000, when the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDAA) came into force. This act also introduced amendment to GIBNA and the Insurance Act, 1938. An amendment to GIBNA removed the exclusive privilege of GIC and its subsidiaries carrying on general insurance in India.

In November 2000, GIC is renotified as the Indian Reinsurer and through administrative instruction, its supervisory role over subsidiaries was ended.

With the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Act 2002 (40 of 2002) coming into force from March 21, 2003 GIC ceased to be a holding company of its subsidiaries. Their ownership were vested with Government of India

Insurance is also an offoshoot of social contract theory.  I trust insurance is also a birth of the United family that existed among the hindus called the joint family and the karta is the insurer who guards all.

Shri Gopal ji, in the light of illustration given by you, would you please clarify the distinction between insurance and indemnity !

The word insurance etymologically has the origin like ths, 1553, "engagement to marry," a variant of ensurance.   Commercial sense of "security against loss or death in exchange for payment" is from 1651. Assurance was the older term for this (late 16c.). Hence is this has anything to do to the western concept of marriage Soni

The word policy associated with insurance and its origin wil enlighten you. It is

Policy

The Greek apódeixis, proof, gave the Latin apodissa, a receipt for money.  This became pòlizza in old Italian, a written document confirming the obligation to deliver a certain sum of money or quantity of goods to the counterparty.  French borrowed the word in the fourteenth century, turning it into police.  In the sixteenth century it started to be used to mean an insurance contract, in both France and Italy, and entered the English language with this sense at that time.  Note that there is no common etymology with the word "police" despite the similarity of the words (in fact they are identical in French); police comes from the Latin politia, the State (from the Greek pólis, city), which also gives us policy in the sense of strategy, and likewise gives us politics.