The Hindu Business Line : Chubb may go for multiple partners in non-life venture

Chubb, which will soon part ways with its partner in its Indian non-life insurance venture, HDFC, will look for multiple Indian partners to form a new joint venture, sources in the know say.

The US non-life insurer will look for "silent partners" who are more investors rather than companies interested in having a say in the running of the company, sources told Business Line.

This model is not new. The life insurance company, MetLife, has precisely this kind of a set up, with five Indian partners in its venture including J&K Bank and M. Pallonji and Company Pvt Ltd.

Chubb and HDFC parted ways because of varied expectations out of the joint venture. Chubb wanted to be sure-footed and profit-conscious, but HDFC wanted speedy growth.

That ICICI Lombard growing fast was seen as a good example for HDFC, while Chubb preferred profitability to volumes, sources said.

In banking, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are counted among the more modern and progressive banks, whereas in insurance, ICICI leaves HDFC far behind. In 2005-06, ICICI Lombard earned premium income of Rs 1,592 crore. HDFC Chubb did Rs 202 crore.

Their separation had been the talk of the industry at least for a couple of months now and was widely expected to happen any time. As it happened in the case of the erstwhile AMP Sanmar, HDFC will walk out of the joint venture, which means all the policies sold by HDFC Chubb would be serviced by Chubb or the new company that Chubb would form.

The industry scuttlebutt has it that HDFC had already initiated talks with other potential suitors, AXA of France is said to be more in the reckoning than others.