Bharti AXA General Insurance gets extra capital infusion of Rs 60cr

Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited, today announced the infusion of additional capital of Rs. 60 crores, thus taking the total shareholders funds to Rs. 190 crores from Rs. 130 crores.

This additional capital will be deployed towards branch network expansion and IT Systems. It comes at a time when the company is going aggressive on its expansion plans and fortifies the trust shown by the management towards the growth of the general insurance sector.

With its offices in more than 17 locations of the country, Bharti AXA General Insurance has managed to sustain its impressive growth pattern by making available its world-class insurance services across India. By March 2009, the company plans to expand its presence to 29 locations.

The recruitment will also be augmented accordingly. Currently, Bharti AXA General Insurance has over 300 agents and over 500 employees. The company is looking to grow its agent base to 3000 agents by end of 2009.

Mr. Milind Chalisgaonkar, Chief Executive Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance said “This strategic infusion of capital provides Bharti AXA General Insurance with the financial flexibility to pursue our expansion plans and maximize our core strengths for stakeholders, customers and the communities we serve.”

Mr. George Kurien, Chief Financial Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance added, “The projected capital injection for the next 5 years is INR 645 Crores. Currently we have 12 offices across the country, and plan to expand to 29 locations by the end of the first year of operations and will continue to build our network to service customers in urban, semi urban and rural markets.”

The company, which is headquartered in Bangalore, is committed to meeting individual clientele requirements with both traditional and innovative products. With a goal to maintain high service standards, the company has extensively invested in creating a strong and stable IT backbone which is capable of handling large volumes of documentation and claims, leading to faster and more efficient service to their customers.

Bharti AXA General Insurance
Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, a leading Indian business group and AXA, a world leader in financial protection. The joint venture company has a 74% stake from Bharti and 26% stake of the AXA Group. Currently the company has offices in 17 locations across the country, and plans to expand to 29 locations by the end of the first year of operations.

Bharti AXA General Insurance combines Bharti's powerful leadership position in India, its network and corporate relationships, with AXA's vast experience as the leading global provider in Financial Protection and Asset Management services in over 55 countries across the globe. The company will leverage AXA's operational excellence in the areas of product innovation, technical excellence, quality of service, productivity and distribution, as well as their expertise in claims management, underwriting, pricing and investment performance. Bharti AXA General Insurance will hence provide a well defined product portfolio that will have both traditional and innovative product solutions for the corporate and retail customers.