Underwriting profit,mkt reach to help GIs in '14: BajajAllianz

The general insurance industry should strive for underwriting profits, deeper penetration and technology adoption in the new year if it were to report better profitability, a top official of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has said.
"As an industry, we should focus on making underwriting profit and stay away from any kind of price wars. Also, increased penetration and use of technology should be high on the agenda for the sector," Managing Director and Chief Executive of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Tapan Singhel told PTI in an interaction here.
He also said the industry should also try to clear the misperception about not settling claims among investors.

"While the number of claims settled by the industry is really high, we should clear the perception that the industry is not settling claims," Singhel said.
Emphasising the need for higher penetration, he said the industry should adopt the KYC norms for better service delivery.
On the growth potential for next year, he is of the opinion that though growth has come down in the last few months, it should pick up going ahead depending upon the economic activity.
After registering around 18 per cent growth in the last fiscal, growth rate has come down to 12-13 per cent in the last few months due to the slowdown in auto sales coupled with general economic slowdown.