Initially, the Reliance Group Mediclaim Policy will cover around 18,000 employees, based at its Mumbai and Patalganga offices. Afterwards, the scheme will be extended to its workforce based in Jamnagar and Hazira.

Confirming the deal, Mr BD Banerjee, chairman & managing director, OIC, said that Oriental is planning to undertake health insurance business in a major way.

According to him, his company will expand its health insurance business after empanelling few third party administrators, for which the exercises are already on.

"We are also awaiting the guidelines on TPAs from the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (Irda)" Mr Banerjee added. The Chennai-based Apollo Hospital is also negotiating with OIC to act as a TPA on behalf of the company. Paramount Health Care Management, which is having an equity tie-up with Munich-Re, a major reinsurance multinational is one of the largest health service provided in the country. It has offices around 15 cities and has been able to establish a network for providing health care services which include doctors, hospitals and medical shops in 130 cities of the country. It also has 24-hour call centres in Mumbai, through which its client can utilise its services. The software at the call centres will keep a detailed account of the cover facilities of the clients.

The health insurance business, which is estimated to be over Rs 10,000 crore will be a focus of all major domestic non-life companies. Other public sector and private sector non-life companies are in the process of appointing third party administrators. Recently, Germany-based reinsurance major GeneralCologneRe, has formed a strategic alliance with Sedgwick Parekh to entrer the health insurance sector as a third party administrator. Idra is expected to announce the guidelines on TPA by March-end.