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More than half of Indians polled in a recent survey say that they prefer to purchase insurance to placing their money in fixed deposits.

The survey by marketing information company Nielsen shows that 54% of people in the country prefer to invest in the different insurance schemes, while only 34% opt for fixed deposits.

The exercise polled around 1,000 people across the cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

However, the most popular choice of all is gold with 58% of respondents naming it as their best investment option.

The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is in talks with the government and other stakeholders to set up a self-regulatory organisation for health insurance companies, reports the Business Standard citing the insurance watchdog’s chairman, Mr J Hari Narayan.

Speaking on the sidelines of a health insurance summit, he said that the proposal was with the government and could be in place by March, or even January. “This will involve amendment to the Indian Insurance Act,” he added.

An IRDA senior official says that the new organisation may be called the Health Insurance Council, which will have representatives from related industries and regulators.

Meanwhile, the Tariff Advisory Committee, a government-constituted body under the Insurance Act, is working on building a database for health and motor transport. The database, expected to be ready in two months, will help to create common standards for the industry and transparency in data collection and dissemination. At present, officials are working on the data, and the format for reporting is being finalised.