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United India Insurance Company is looking to expand overseas. “We are looking at Sri Lanka, considering its proximity and the huge number of Tamil-speaking people doing business there. It would be a perfect fit for us,” Chairman and Managing Director Milind Kharat told BusinessLine .
He said the company had done some preliminary work by studying the market and the regulations in the island nation. He expressed hope that the company would be able to establish its overseas presence at least in the next year.
Kharat was in the city to take part in a village adoption programme at Kundanur near Aanaikatti, the third village for United India in Tamil Nadu.
Sharing some insights from the Gyan Sangam meet (for bankers) held in Pune last week, Kharat said “though this initiative of the Ministry of Finance was mainly intended for bankers, the chieftains of general insurance companies were also invited. There were six groups and each – given a topic for discussion such as priority sector lending, IT, reorganisation of banks, HR strategies and so on. We had to come up with an action plan.
“Our actionable points – both for banks and suggestions for the government – were presented to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Minister of State for Finance. The meeting was useful and focused. In fact, such a congregation (of banks and insurance companies chiefs) with involvement from the Ministry, RBI and outside experts happened for the first time. We have sought for greater autonomy”.
Conceding that growth has been elusive for general insurance companies for some time now, he said the reforms initiated by the regulator in the property segment are expected to help improve the situation. Kharat said the advisory from IRDA has held that the companies could charge rates based on claim experience from the sector.
“This is a welcome change, as the current pricing is very competitive. In fact, we cannot sustain at this pricing,” he said, recalling the two major catastrophes (Hudhud cyclone and floods in Jammu and Kashmir) that hit the industry hard in 2014.
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