Edelweiss Financial Services to enter general insurance

Edelweiss General Insurance will be EFS' wholly-owned subsidiary

Edelweiss Financial Services is set to enter the general insurance industry as the 30th player. The company on Monday said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has accepted its registration application (R1) for setting up a general insurance company. The insurer, to be called Edelweiss General Insurance, will be its wholly owned subsidiary.

R1 is the first step of regulatory clearances required for carrying on the business as general insurance company in India. Edelweiss Financial Services is already present in the life insurance sector through Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, which is a joint venture with Tokio Marine Holdings of Japan.

Kotak Mahindra General Insurance was the most recent one to get the final licence (R3) to commence business. It had announced in November 2015 that it had been granted the permission to underwrite all classes of general insurance business (including health insurance).

Edelweiss Financial Services had posted profit after tax of Rs 122 crore for the March quarter of FY16, up 38 per cent posted in the corresponding quarter in the past financial year. The group’s gross net worth stood at Rs 4,372 crore as of March 31, 2016.