Icici Lombard Begins Retail Operations

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has entered the Indian retail market with the launch of motor insurance policy.

The company commenced its retail operations in November in Delhi, while it started its Mumbai operations on Monday.

"We chose to start with motor insurance since this constitutes one-third of the country's insurance sales profile," said ICICI Lombard managing director Sanjiv Kerkar.

ICICI Lombard is a joint venture between ICICI Ltd and Lombard of Canada. The company, with a focus on the private passenger car segment, has sold around 500 motor policies since its launch.

Meanwhile, ICICI Lombard started operations with commercial lines for corporates in September this year. It has to date sold around 100 policies, and has targeted ICICI customers. "There is a affinity to extend and target ICICI customers," said Kerkar.

 

On the retail front, plans are afoot to introduce other personal line covers including home insurance, personal accident policy and travel insurance in due course.

ICICI Lombard proposes to launch the motor insurance policy in Calcutta, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad in the coming weeks and be present in 11 cities by the end of the fiscal.

On the existing competition in the motor segment, Kerkar said: "Pricing is similar on account of the tariff regime. What can make a difference is the features and the non-visible aspect in terms of service and claims."

ICICI Lombard's motor policy offers discounts on car maintenance services through its tie-up with a number of merchants across the country.

Further, through its tie-up with a panel of garages in each city, the company intends to offer faster claim settlement. It also has a 24-hour call centre, offering towing and ambulance services for its customers.