BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

INSURANCE

Life Insurance: The origin of 'Life Insurance' business in India could be traced to 1870. In Akola district insurance business was believed to have been started at a time when the Government Security Life Assurance company, Ltd., expanded its business throughout India. A marked expansion could be seen in the business in the district after the Swadeshi movement of 1905. Life insurance had remained till then in the hands of foreign companies. A further spurt in the formation of new companies was witnessed during the Second World War when inflationary pressure fended to swell the volume of business in the country. With a view to establishing a closer watch in the matters of management, investment of funds and expenditure of insurers, Government established the Department of Insurance under the authority of the Controller of Insurance and enacted the Insurance Act of 1938. The Act was extensively amended in 1950, when further controls in the. interest of the policyholders were exercised.

By the Life Insurance Ordinance of 1956 the business of life insurance passed from private hands to the Life Insurance Corporation in 1956. The corporation entertains proposals for assurance where the object of assurance is family protection, provision for old age, or provision for payment of estate duty. In other cases, the object of insurance is to provide security to educational trusts in respect of loans advanced for educational purposes or to provide donations to charitable institutions.

The Life Insurance Corporation was constituted by an Act in 1956. Since its establishment the Indian and foreign insurers and provident fund societies ceased to carry on life insurance business in India. However, the general insurance representing fire, marine, accident and other insurance business was kept open for private enterprise. General insurance business is also nationalised since 1972.

Under the new organisational and administrative set-up of the Life Insurance Corporation, Akola district is placed under the territorial jurisdiction of the Nagpur Division. The total number of agents in the district was 571 in 1960. It was 498 in 1964-65, 424 in 1967-68 and 398 in 1968-69. The total business proposed and completed during the period from 1960 to 1968-69 is given in the following statement.

The phenomenal growth in the amount insured is mainly attributable to the increasing consciousness of the public as also to the increase in the insurance facilities in the district.

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