Page 6 - Insurance Times June 2019

IFFCO Tokio bags IRDAI's M N Sarma to be new Secretary General of General In-
group medical policy surance Council
IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Com- MN Sarma, the former Chairman & Managing Director
pany has (MD) of United India Insurance will take over as the new
bagged the Secretary General of the General Insurance Council.
G r o u p
Mr Sarma, who retired in May 2018, will take over the new
M e d i s h i e l d
responsibility in August 2019. Besides Mr Sarma, Mr.CR
Policy (GMP)
Vijayan, a former director of the GIC Re, has also been se-
of the IRDAI. The existing GMP and
lected as the deputy Secretary General of the GI Council.
Group Personal Accident Policy
The GI Council was formed in 2001, under an act of the
(GPAP) of the regulator for its em-
IRDAI has emerged as an important representative of the General Insurers in
ployees expired on April 19. The de-
the Country. The GI Council is an important link between the insurance regula-
cision to award the policy to IFFCO
tor and the non-Life insurance industry. It also pushes for the industry’s issues
Tokio General Insurance Company
was taken by the procurement com- with the government. The insurance sector has 4 non life, GIC in the public
mittee of the authority held recently. sector and 27 companies in the private sector at present.
The premium approved, including The interviews for the post were held recently and Mr.Sarma was selected from
GST, was worth Rs. 1,26,26,000. at least five candidates. According to reports, from the about 14 applicants, five
IRDAI had called for quotations from were short listed and Mr. Sarma was selected by interview by the Five mem-
all general insurance companies and bers of the executive committee of the GI Council- A V Girija Kumar, CMD,
standalone health insurance compa- Oriental Insurance Company, Anuj Gulati, Religare Health Insurance Co, Ritesh
nies on the basis of existing coverage Kumar, MD & CEO, HDFC Ergo General Insurance, Alice Vaidyan, CMD, GIC Re,
and proposed coverage. While 12 in- C R Biswal, former additional chief secretary, Andhra Pradesh.
surers submitted quotations for
He succeeds, R Chandrasekaran who has been holding the post since 2011. The
GPAP and 11 filed quotes for GMP.
term of office could be three years and the Council has fixed the retirement
age at 65. While the council plays the role envisaged for it by the Insurance
Bajaj Allianz Gen net Act, it also facilitates overall growth for the industry in a fair and equitable
profit declines 55% manner in the interest of all stake holders. It has The GI worked extensively in
area of developing data repositories for the industry.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, posted
a fall of more
SBI Gen Insurance aims for 30% growth in premium col-
than 55 per
cent in net lection
profit to Rs.
SBI General Insurance Company Ltd plans for 30 per cent growth this financial
83 crore in
year, over Rs 4,717 crore Gross Written Premium (GWP) achieved in 2018-19.
the fourth quarter of 2018-19. The pri-
vate sector insurer had registered a Pushan Mahapatra, MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance, said, “The premium
net profit of Rs. 187 crore in the fourth collection in the last fiscal was Rs 4,717 crore. We aim to grow by about 30 per
quarter of 2017-18. It also made an cent during the financial year. The general insurance industry is expected grow
underwriting loss of Rs. 146 crore for 13 to 15 per cent during the financial year and SBI General Insurance aims to
the January to March 2019 quarter, grow by 200 per cent compared to industry.”
against a profit of Rs. 30 crore in the
"The matter is under active consideration and the IPO (initial public offering)
same period a year ago.
will happen at the right time,” Mahapatra said. He further added that the in-
The drop in profit was primarily at- surer is also making considerable investment in digital, partnership and analytics
tributed to natural calamities and space. SBI General Insurance has also entered into a partnership with the Policy
crop insurance. Its gross written pre- Bazaar for selling travel insurance.
mium rose 23% to Rs. 3,402 crore in
“We expect five per cent of our sales from online channels in the next three years,”
the fourth quarter of the fiscal, from
Mahapatra said. Meanwhile, after the severe cyclonic storm Fani,
Rs. 2,764 crore in the same period of
the general insurer has received 1061 claims intimations in Odisha. It also claimed
the previous fiscal.
it has achieved 66 per cent disposal ratio with a turnaround time of 8.5 days.
6 The Insurance Times, June 2019