Polaris to strengthen insurance vertical

To invest Rs 100 crore in centre of excellence.

Chennai-based Polaris Software Lab, a financial technology company, is planning to strengthen its insurance portfolio business by introducing new solutions. The company is setting up a centre of excellence for insurance near Chennai with an investment of around Rs 100 crore to develop new solutions and to service company’s insurance clients.

The company is expecting its insurance business, which was around Rs 95 crore last year, would touch Rs 250 crore in the next three years.

Speaking to reporters after laying the foundation stone for the new centre at Navalur, 25 kms from Chennai, Arun Jain, founder and CEO, Polaris said the company has invested Rs 400 crore over the last years to develop financial technology products.

The company has decided to strengthen its insurance business which contributed Rs 95 crore to the company’s overall turnover last year. The company had set a target of Rs 250 crore over the next three years from this particular segment.

He added that the new facility, which will be both development and service centre, will be ready in the next 18 months and will house 2,500 people. The company would invest around Rs 100 crore which will be funded from internal accruals. The company would offer readymade products for insurance companies which in turn would accelerate customer experience, said Jain.

The company has established Centres of Excellence for Investment Banking in Hyderabad, retail banking in Chennai and for corporate banking in Mumbai. The new centre would be for insurance.

Presently, the company has over 23 insurance companies as clients across the globe. They include AIG, New York Life, ICICI Prudential, Kiln, IDBI Fortis and others. Meanwhile the company is planning to foray into 40 countries over the 4-5 years with its bouquet of products. In 2009-10 the company is planning to enter Vietnam, Egypt and Chile. The company is likely to invest Rs 10-15 crore for its foray into these countries. The criteria would minimum population of 5 million and a revenue stream of $10 million over three years, said Jain.