Go Digit General to get fresh capital of Rs 165 cr

Non-life insurer Go Digit General Insurance Company will focus on the fire, health and personal accident protection businesses this fiscal with the launch of new products and signing up bancassurance deals, a top company official said on Thursday.

Backed by the Canada-based Fairfax group promoted by Prem Watsa, the insurance company will get an additional capital infusion of about Rs 165 crore this June, he added.

He also said the group may look at entering the reinsurance sector after it gets a communication from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on the proposal to acquire ITI Reinsurance Ltd.

"We closed last year with a premium of Rs 1,200 crore. Bulk of the business is from motor insurance and the balance from other lines of business like fire, group health and others. Sale of retail fire insurance products will happen from this fiscal onwards," Go Digit Founder and Chairman Kamesh Goyal told IANS.

"We are planning to launch retail health insurance and personal accident insurance policies in June, which will increase our retail business spread. We will also grow our fire insurance business," he added.

Go Digit will also soon sign up with two private banks as its bancassurance partners, which, in turn, would increase sales of its retail products.

According to Goyal, the upward non-revision of the motor third party insurance premium, the slowdown in the economy and the tight financial position of non-banking finance companies (NBFC) affecting automobile sales are worrying factors for the general insurance sector.

"If IRDAI plans to detariff the motor third party insurance premium, then it should be done in one go and not in a calibrated manner," Goyal said.

Go Digit will also expand its network by over 25 offices this fiscal, taking the total number to over 100.

With a current capital base of Rs 825 crore and an additional capital of Rs 165 crore next month, Go Digit will have a total capital base of Rs 990 crore.

"Given the growth in our business we need the additional capital for meeting the solvency norms," the Chairman said.

Queried about the status of the group's plans to acquire the countrya's first private reinsurer ITI Reinsurance Ltd, Goyal said: "The matter is with IRDAI."

He said the group may look at entering the resinsurance sector after hearing from IRDAI on the proposal to acquire ITI Reinsurance.

Last June, the promoters of ITI Reinsurance announced their decision to sell off the company to Go Digit Infoworks Services Pvt Ltd.

According to industry sources, the IRDAI has not given its nod to the sale as the private reinsurer has not done any business and the sales of the company in the last five years have been nothing other than trading in insurance licences.

--IANS

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