NIC to focus on auto sector for growth

National Insurance Company (NIC), which emerged the largest general insurance company in the country for the first half of the current financial year in terms of premium income collection, will now focus on the automobile sector for growth.

It has already tied up with Maruti Udyog Ltd, Hero Honda and a few other automobile companies to insure all vehicles sold by these companies. The public sector insurer is in talks with more companies too.

"By the end of the current fiscal year, I believe that auto insurance will contribute at least 40 per cent of the targeted Rs 4,500 crore premium income. Personal insurance and the tie-ups with banks should contribute between 20-25 per cent of our income, while fire insurance should also contribute about 30 per cent," said H S Wadhwa, chairman-cum-managing director, NIC.

He said that a huge chunk of the auto premium collection is from the sale of Maruti vehicles.

NIC will also add as many as 600 one-man extension counters over the next one year. Wadhwa said that these extension counters will mainly be located at un-represented areas and will serve as touchpoints for all types of insurance activities.

Meanwhile, NIC will invest an additional Rs 70 crore for upgrading its technology in the current year. The company had invested Rs 165 crore in the previous year in IT.

Wadhwa said that the tie-ups with various banks, for selling its insurance products, is giving the insurance company a business of around Rs 100 crore. But in two years from now, each of these banks will provide NIC with a business of around Rs 100 crore, he commented.

Wadhwa also said that the entry of private insurance companies in general insurance sector had no impact on the company.

"In fact, the entry of private insurance companies has boosted out growth further. Before the private insurance companies entered, we were growing at around 5 per cent, and are now growing at 30 per cent," he said.

He added that while all offices of NIC have already been connected through hotlines, video conferencing facilities are being set up and this will be followed by introduction of high speed data transfer facilities between the offices.