Commercial Overprint Society of Great Britain
Vol. 3 No. 4; October 1, 2005
Formation of the Insurance Industry in India
by Jeff Turnbull
Insurance Law in India had its origins in the United Kingdom with the establishment in 1818 in Calcutta of a British firm, the Oriental Life Insurance Company. It was conceived as a means to provide money for English widows. Interestingly, in those days a 20% higher premium was charged for Indian lives than the non-Indian lives, as Indian lives were considered to be a greater risk to cover.
Till the end of nineteenth century, insurance business was almost entirely in the hands of overseas companies. The Oriental Life Insurance Company was followed by the Bombay Life Assurance Company in 1823, the Madras Equitable Life Insurance Society in 1829, the Tital Insurance Company Limited (the first general insurance company) in 1850, and The Oriental Life Assurance Company in 1874.
Insurance regulation formally began in India with the passing of the following acts:
- 1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act was enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business.
- 1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses. (which was based on the English Act of 1909).
- 1938: Earlier legislation was consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.
The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. (OICL)
The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. (OICL) is one of the four general Insurance companies in India under the aegis of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India. It is one of the oldest insurance companies and was established in 1947. The company, headquartered in New Delhi, transacts all kinds of general insurance business ranging from very big projects to small rural insurance covers.
The company has 21 regional offices, 311 divisional offices and 635 branch offices. It specializes in devising special covers for large projects such as power plants, petro-chemical, steel plants, and chemical plants.
The Oriental Overprints
Because of the variety of insurance companies to use the name "Oriental", you have to be careful to identify your overprints properly:
This security handstamp is from the Oriental Life Insurance Company. Unlike the handstamps found on some British stamps in revenue applications, this is not a cancelling mark—it is akin to a perfin and was used for postage.
These overprints clearly identify the Oriental Life Assurance Company. Notice how all three overprints have slightly different fonts.
These overprints are from the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. and are similar to a pattern used in Africa. See COSGB: Kenya for an example. See http://www.cosgb.org/minor.htm#kenya for an example.
Thanks to Terry Woods and Michael Behm for the scans they provided. Send comments or questions to mjbehm@kw.igs.net