Page 6 - Insurance Times November 2020

will offer affordable and seamless insur- ucts to facilitate ecosystems and value Note that ICICI Lombard is a general
ance products to Finserv MARKETS chains insurance company registered with the
customers. Finserv MARKETS approach Insurance Regulatory and Develop-
is direct to customers which is aligned CCI approves acquisition ment Authority of India (IRDAI) and is
with our approach. Given that auto engaged in providing a comprehensive
insurance is a core strength for Finserv of general insurance busi- and well-diversified range of general
MARKETS, ACKO's product offerings ness of Bharti AXA by ICICI insurance products, including motor,
blend well with their current product Lombard health, fire, personal accident, marine,
suites, providing another best-value engineering and liability insurance,
The Competition Commission of India
option to their customers. This part- through multiple distribution channels.
(CCI) has approved the acquisition of
nership will further help us demon-
General Insurance Business of Bharti Meanwhile, Bharti AXA is a general
strate distribution of insurance prod- insurance company registered with the
AXA General Insurance Company Lim-
ucts using data & technology as the key IRDAI and is a joint venture held by
ited (Bharti AXA) by ICICI Lombard
levers."
General Insurance Company Limited Bharti General Ventures Private Lim-
(ICICI Lombard) under Section 31(1) of ited (51%) and Societe Beaujon (49%).
TCS and B3i partner to the Competition Act, 2002. It is engaged in providing general in-
launch solutions for insur- Earlier in August, ICICI Lombard an- surance products, including motor,
health, travel, crop and home insur-
ance industry nounced its merger with Bharti AXA's ance to its customers.
non-life insurance business. The com-
Tata Consultancy Services has
bined entity is set to emerge as the Pursuant to the proposed combination,
partnered with B3i Services AG, a glo-
third-largest non-life insurer in India. the entire general insurance business
bal industry-led blockchain initiative,
Post the proposed deal, ICICI Bank's of Bharti AXA would be transferred by
to design, develop and launch ecosys-
shareholding will come down to 48.1% way of a demerger to ICICI Lombard
tem innovations based on distributed
while Bharti & AXA will together hold in consideration of issuance of shares
ledger technology (DLT) for the insur-
Rs. 7.3% stake in the merged entity. by ICICI Lombard to Bharti AXA.
ance industry.
The exchange ratio for the same stands
This partnership leverages TCS' innova- at 2 shares of ICICI Lombard for every No deadline extension for
tion capabilities and B3i's industry-lead-
115 shares held by the shareholders of motor insurance policies
ing production DLT platform, to accel-
Bharti AXA General Insurance business.
erate the digitization of insurance for The Centre may have advised state
ICICI Lombard believes that there is sig-
faster and more efficient delivery of governments to extend the validity of
nificant headroom available for operat-
tailored solutions to support risk man- all vehicle-related documents up to
ing leverage and cost-effectiveness and
agers, insurers, brokers, reinsurers, that they do not require any capital December 31, 2020.
and industry service providers.
raise at the moment given the solvency According to a clarification from the
Partners and customers will be able to margins remain well above the regula- General Insurance Council, the Minis-
leverage the B3i Fluidity platform by tory requirements. try of Road Transport and Highways
reusing common components and ser- Also, Bharti AXA has a stronger pres- (MoRTH) order does not apply to mo-
vices, as well as ensuring ence in motor insurance and hence, tor insurance specifically.
interoperability with other applica- the combined entity will be able to "MoRTH letter of 24th August 2020
tions in the B3i ecosystem. garner 12% market share in this seg- advised State Governments that in case
Additionally, TCS' experience in ment. CLSA has also maintained BUY the validity of fitness certificates, per-
curating ecosystems across industries, with a target price of Rs 1560/ share. mits, driving licences, and registration
including manufacturing, distribution, They add with a 120% combined ratio certificates pertaining to vehicles have
logistics, retail, and insurance will en- & 7.9% share dilution deal will be earn- expired on or after 1st February 2020
able B3i participants to close the 'pro- ings dilutive but the scale & synergy will and not extended due to the lockdown,
tection gap' by identifying opportuni- ICICI Lombard to optimise expense ra- such certificates may be treated as valid
ties for new or existing insurance prod- tio in future. until December 31, 2020.

6 The Insurance Times, November 2020