New India Assurance hopes to attain Rs 7,200-cr premium target

The New India Assurance Company, the public sector general insurer, is hopeful of achieving the target of Rs 7200 crore gross premium in the current fiscal. This includes Rs 1200 crore gross premium from its overseas branches.

“The business growth is on track and we don’t see any problem in achieving the target for the current fiscal”, M Ramadoss, chairman and the managing director (CMD), New India Assurance Company, said.

Addressing the media after the 1500th board meeting of the company held in Bhubaneswar, he said, the company clocked a growth rate of 9 percent up to January 2010 and this would be maintained over the next two years.

The board of directors has approved the constitution of a policy holders advisory committee at the level of directors as per the direction of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).This body would sit four times every year and would look into various policyholder related matters.

On the recent initiatives taken by the company, Ramadoss said, New India Assurance has introduced Core Insurance Solution (CIS) in line with the CBS adopted by the banks. It would provide the requisite IT backbone for business transactions of the company.

Further, claims hubs have been set up in major cities and specialised officers have been put in place to provide better customer care.

The company issues about one crore new policy and settles about 6 lakh claims every year

The company plans to launch new products in the health sector and is in the process of filing the documents in this regard with the insurance regulator. It also intends to launch products which can be sold through internet in next 3-4 months.

New India Assurance Company, which has been vested with the responsibility of implementation of the Rastriya Swastha Vima Yojana (RSVY) in 12 Orissa districts, has issued biometric identity cards to 1.75 lakh BPL beneficiaries.

To expedite the implementation of the project, the company intends to empanel more hospitals and launch an awareness campaign. A separate cell is being opened in the Bhubaneswar regional office for speedy implementation of the scheme. The progress of the scheme would be reviewed on a monthly basis, he added.