Hdfc Chubb To Kick Off In Sept
HDFC Chubb General Insurance Company will commence operations by mid-September. This follows Chubb Global Financial Services -- the foreign partner in the venture -- receiving clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to bring in Rs 73.8 crore towards its acquisition of a 26 per cent stake in the insurance joint venture.
HDFC Chubb General Insurance is a 74:26 joint venture between the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and the US-based Chubb Corporation, where the latter is entering venture at a premium of Rs 47.54 crore. The general insurance entity will have a paid-up capital of Rs 101 crore and an authorised capital of Rs 120 crore.
This is the first time that the 35-year-old US firm will enter the mass market when it starts business in India. It is also making a similar paradigm shift in China. Chubb, otherwise, has been a high-end insurance company, focusing on high net worth individuals, commercial lines and information technology.
Through Chubb's local partner, HDFC, the Indian insurance joint venture will focus on personal lines, with the chunk of the business expected to come from motor insurance. It proposes to set up three strategic business units -- personal lines, accident and health, and commercial lines.
"Chubb has gone for a paradigm shift in India and China. This, in the Indian context, is a great accomplishment, considering that all other players are implementing their own model here," said Shrirang V Samant, HDFC Chubb General Insurance Company chief executive officer designate.
The target market is different for HDFC Chubb General Insurance as the Indian partner, HDFC, has a strong presence in the retail segment.
"We are consciously planning to tap the personal line segment as HDFC epitomises the aspirations of the middle-class," said company officials.
HDFC Chubb is not planning to focus on a direct agency model. The preference will be to use point of sales in terms of auto dealership outfits and HDFC offices where it can tap existing customers.