MUMBAI: German insurance giant Allianz and Jio Financial Services have announced a 50:50 joint venture to enter India’s domestic reinsurance market. The pair also signed a non-binding term sheet for potential joint ventures in both life and general insurance. The move comes four months after Allianz ended its twodecade long joint venture with Bajaj Finserv. India’s reinsurance landscape remains relatively concentrated. GIC Re, the state-owned reinsurer, remains the sole Indian-incorporated firm in the sector. The rest, which includes global heavyweights such as Munich Re, Swiss Re and SCOR SE, operate via branches. By forming a locally incorporated reinsurance entity, Allianz and JFSL aim to embed themselves more deeply into the regulatory and commercial fabric of India’s insurance ecosystem. Jio Fin, spun off from Reliance Industries and listed just last year, is rapidly establishing itself as a fullfledged financial services group. Its businesses already spans credit, payments, leasing, insurance broking and partnerships, including a separate joint venture with BlackRock for asset and wealth management. This latest tie-up with Allianz enhances its ambition to offer a full suite of financial services. For Allianz, the pivot from Bajaj to Reliance’s financial arm suggests not just a change in partner, but a shift in strategy—from legacy joint ventures to new, digitally enabled platforms. The firm’s CEO, Oliver Bäte, said the opportunity to “democratise access to world-class financial services” across India, where Allianz seeks to be more than just a reinsurer: it wants to be a cornerstone of the country’s evolving risk management architecture. The venture, if approved, would mark the first significant reinsurance JV in India in recent memory. India is the 10th largest insurance market in the world but is expected to climb higher owing to its sustained growth. Life insurance premiums crossed Rs 8.7 lakh crore in FY25 while non-life touched nearly Rs 3.1 lakh crore.