MUNICH RE AND RELIANCE TO RESTART TALKS OVER JV, SAY REPORTS

Stalled proposals to establish India’s first privately owned joint venture reinsurer, owned by locally based Reliance General Insurance Co and Munich Re, are now set to be revived, according to recent local press reports. A team of delegates from Munich Re is planning to visit Mumbai earlier this month to restart negotiations with Reliance, six months after the two insurers signed a memorandum of understanding for the reinsurance partnership. Should all go to plan, it is expected that both firms will shortly apply to local regulator the IRDA for a licence, with Munich Re being limited to a 26% holding in any venture under local law. At the moment, the Indian reinsurance market consists solely of state reinsurer General Insurance Corp (GIC), to which all local non-life insurers are required to cede at least 20% of this risk business and all life companies are required to cede 10%.