Munich Reinsurance Co. on Tuesday said it is opening a composite branch office in Mumbai, India, to service the property/casualty, life and health reinsurance markets.

The reinsurer joins several other international insurers announcing plans for the Indian market.

Munich Re said it was one of the first foreign reinsurers to receive approval for a dedicated branch in India following the 2015 amendment of the country’s Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015. Munich Re has had a presence in the Indian market since the 1950s. 

Munich Re said its economic research unit estimated that real premium growth in emerging Asia will grow by 9.0% in P/C reinsurance and 10.1% in life reinsurance until 2025. For India, expectations for P/C reinsurance are 9.2%.

In addition to Munich Re, Scor S.E. said Dec. 27 that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India had granted the company an R3 authorization allowing Scor to open a composite branch office in India to conduct life and P/C reinsurance business. Scor said it has been writing business with Indian clients since 1973 and opened a liaison office in India in 2005.

The authority said on its website that it had granted certificates of registration to Munich Re, Scor, Reinsurance Group of America Inc., Hannover Re S.E. and Swiss Re Ltd. 

Chesterfield, Missouri-based Reinsurance Group of America Inc. also said Dec. 27 that it had received the R3 approval to operate as a fully licensed branch office in India. The branch applicant entity is RGA Life Reinsurance Co. of Canada.

Hannover Re announced Dec. 28 that it had received the R3 approval to open a branch office in Mumbai. The office will write property/casualty reinsurance, including agricultural risks, as well as life and health business out of this location.

“With a total population of some 1.3 billion, a rapidly growing middle class and a comparatively low insurance density relative to other national economies, India constitutes an attractive market of the future,” Hannover Re said in a statement.

Swiss Re also received the R3 approval to operate in India, and published reports said the IRDAI has given preliminary approvals to other large insurers as well.