The Hindu Business Line : Bharti AXA General kicks off operations

Headquarters in Bangalore: (From left) Mr Kim Soon Chua, Chief Operating Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance; Mr Milind Chalisgaonkar, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. George Kurian, Chief Financial Officer, at a press conference " in Mumbai on Thursday. – Shashi Ashiwal

Our Bureau

Mumbai, Aug. 7 Bharti AXA General Insurance Company has kicked off its business operations in India. Bharti and AXA have made an initial investment of Rs 130 crore and have projected a capital injection of Rs 645 crore in the next five years.

Bharti has a 74 per cent stake in the company, with AXA holding the balance 26 per cent. Global insurance major AXA has operations in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific.

The company plans to leverage Bharti’s extensive distribution network and its local knowledge as well as the AXA Group’s domain and technological expertise.

“We plan to pursue a multi-channel and a multi-product approach to attract diverse customer segments in India,” said Mr Milind Chalisgaonkar, Chief Executive Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance.

Bharti AXA also has a life insurance company which was set up in 2006.

Mr Chalisgaonkar said that the non-life and the life insurance company hoped to have a common agency force which could sell general as well as life insurance products.

Bharti AXA General Insurance plans to offer a range of products including property, engineering, cargo, motor, health, personal accident and travel insurance. The company plans to cater to the rural, urban and commercial segments with equal focus on retail and corporate products.

It plans to establish a pan-India business network with offices and partnerships.

Bharti AXA General will be headquartered in Bangalore. The company has set up 7 offices and plans to expand to 29 locations by the end of the first year of operations, said Mr George Kurien, Chief Financial Officer. The company also has plans to open satellite branches.