Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and JSA have assisted Jio Financial Services and Allianz Group, respectively, on their recently concluded strategic 50:50 domestic reinsurance joint venture in India to serve the fast-growing Indian insurance market.
The JV merges JFSL’s deep local market knowledge, robust digital infrastructure, and strong distribution capabilities with Allianz’s global underwriting excellence, decades of reinsurance expertise (Allianz Re has operated in India for over 25 years), and advanced risk management frameworks.
This JV marks Allianz’s renewed commitment to India’s insurance market following its exit from earlier joint ventures with Bajaj Finserv. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas had advised Baja Finserv on the acquisition of Allianz SE’s entire 26 percent promoter stake in their insurance joint ventures for close to INR 4,180 crore. JSA had advised Allianz on that deal as well.
Alongside the reinsurance JV, Jio and Allianz have entered into a non-binding agreement to explore equally owned joint ventures in both general insurance and life insurance segments in India, signaling potential for broader collaboration across insurance services.
India’s insurance sector is undergoing a transformative surge, fueled by expanding middle class, rising financial awareness, and digitization. The reinsurance market in India is valued at over INR 98,000 crore ($11.6 billion), with GIC Re historically collecting over INR 1,500 crore annually in compulsory cessions, a portion of which may now be shared with the Jio-Allianz JV.
The JV is poised to disrupt the traditionally state-dominated reinsurance sector, challenging GIC Re’s century-long dominance by introducing global capacity, underwriting sophistication, and Jio’s digital-first distribution edge. GIC Re currently holds a dominant position, benefiting from a mandatory 5 percent premium cession from all insurers and a preferential order in business acceptance.
The entry of the Jio-Allianz JV may lead to sharing of this obligatory premium and an adjustment in the order of preference, potentially eroding GIC Re’s longstanding market advantages. GIC Re’s market share has already declined—from 74.2 percent in 2019 to about 51 percent in 2023—due to various factors, and the JV’s entry will intensify this competitive pressure.
The CAM team on the deal was led by senior partner L. Viswanathan, and partner and insurance practice head Indranath Bishnu. It also included principal associates Kush Wadehra and Anirud Sudarsan R, and senior associate Naman Lodha.
JSA’s team was led by partners Venkatesh Raman Prasad and Ronak Ajmera, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. JSA did not comment on the deal.
