Page 7 - The Insurance Times August 2024

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through a combination of fresh growth
Three State insurers may get Rs. 5,000 crore infusion capital and share purchase.
for revival The transaction marks the largest for-

The government may delay a planned privatisation of state-run general in- eign investment in India's general in-
surers, focusing instead on strengthening the three insurers-Oriental Insur- surance market and is the first by a
ance Co. Ltd, National Insurance Co. Ltd, and United India Insurance Co. foreign insurer since the foreign direct
Ltd-through capital support and business revival plans. investment (FDI) limit was raised from
49 percent to 74 percent in 2021.
It is expected to infuse about Rs. 5,000 crore into the three insurers, shelv-
ing any privatisation plan this fiscal, said officials aware of the development. With this, Kotak General has ceased to
"Deliberations have been held with all stakeholders, and an announcement be a wholly-owned subsidiary of KMB
regarding capital support is expected in the upcoming budget," one of the and the bank now holds the remaining
officials said. He said the final amount may vary but the government is com- 30 percent of the share capital of Kotak
mitted to supporting the general insurers to further strengthen their bal- General, KMB said in a stock exchange
ance sheets. filing.
Solvency ratio for the three insurers remained at about 0.58 as of Decem- "The acquisition of Kotak General In-
ber 2023, compared to the regulatory requirement of 1.50 times. The sol- surance sets the way forward for
vency ratio is the excess of capital and the value of assets over the insured Zurich to be a leading player in a very
liabilities. It indicates the buffer an insurer has to settle all claims in extreme significant growth market - India. This
situations. is a key strategic step for Zurich," said
Tulsi Naidu, CEO - Asia Pacific, Zurich
Insurance Group.
Fraud insurance for smart- Zurich Insurance buys 70%
phone users in Kotak insurance Fisherfolk Insurance pre-

Truecaller, in partnership with HDFC, Zurich Insurance Company Limited mium fixed at Rs. 80
ERGO, has announced the launch of (Zurich) has announced the successful The insurance coverage premium for
Fraud Insurance, aimed at protecting completion of majority stake acquisi- fisherfolk under a new converged
users from digital communication tion in Kotak Mahindra General Insur- scheme for FY25 for FY25 has been
frauds. The plan provides coverage up ance Company Limited (Kotak General) fixed at Rs 80 per person, which is 12
to Rs. 10,000 for Android and IOS us- from Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited per cent less than the old premium.
ers in India who lose money through (KMB) following the receipt of all nec- From June 1, the Centre has con-
SMS/call scams. This is available at no essary regulatory approvals. verged two insurance schemes for
extra cost to yearly premium subscrib- Zurich has acquired a 70 percent stake fisherfolk to bring down the premium
ers of Truecaller. Existing users can also in Kotak General for a total consider- burden and ease the implementation
benefit under their current plan. ation of Rs. 5,560 crore ($670 million), issues.

The Insurance Times August 2024 7