Liberty Videocon sets premium target of Rs 120 crore for 2013

Country's 27th general insurer is planning to start a portfolio with equal mix of retail and commercial products

Liberty Videocon General Insurance, a joint venture between Videocon Industries Ltd and Liberty Citystate Holdings Pte Ltd, part of US-based Liberty Mutual Insurance group, has set a premium target of Rs 120 crore for 2013. The country’s 27th general insurer, which launched operations today, is planning a portfolio with equal mix of retail and commercial products.

The company has commenced business with an initial capital of Rs 350 crore. It received licence to operate in the general insurance industry from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority in May 2012. With a 26 per cent stake, Liberty Citystate will provide the Indian arm inputs on technical functions and extend expertise on managing emerging markets. On the other hand, Videocon, with its 74 per cent stake, will provide access to extensive distribution network across India and share knowledge on consumer behaviour.

“Strong growth in emerging economies has not only triggered higher demand for financial services, but also altered customer attitudes to products and service expectations. They are increasingly demanding simplicity, transparency and right assessment of risk,” said Bhasker Natarajan, executive vice-president, Liberty International.

“Increasingly, more insurance products are ‘bought’ rather than ‘sold’, marking a fundamental shift in customer behaviour. This has led insurance players to re-visit the value chain and their portfolio mix. India is not an exception to these developments. There is tremendous unfulfilled potential in this area,” he added.

“The company plans to introduce all major retail (motor and health) and commercial (fire, engineering and group health) products. We intend to expand business by following ‘set-up, stabilise, study and expand’ model,” said Roopam Asthana, chief executive officer, Liberty Videocon General Insurance. The company plans to take up the number of branches to over 25 in 2014.

Currently, the company has a team of 150 professionals and is planning to have about 320 employees by the end of the year. It will hire 200 more in the near future. Besides Mumbai, the company has operations in Delhi and Bangalore.

The company will soon add five more branches.