State-run Indian Bank and United India Insurance Company (UIIC) have joined hands to launch a web portal offering online entry and renewal of group insurance policies. Indian Bank chairman and managing director TM Bhasin and United India Insurance Company chairman and managing director Milind A Kharat launched the portal on Wednesday. Indian Bank has been offering a Arogya Raksha Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy to its customers since 2006. This is a floater policy offered at high premium, a bank statement said. ?Indian Bank has mobilised a non-life business for UIIC, amounting to R31 crore during 2012-13, earning a fee-based income of R3.23 crore,? it said. So far, the entire operation was done manually consuming huge time. To move towards a more customer friendly business model, Indian Bank and UIIC have developed this web portal which will offer online entry/renewal (of policies) among other services, the statement added. ?The introduction of web portal will add momentum to alternate channels besides enabling us to harness the CBS technology for adding business volumes,? Bhasin said. To a query, he said the bank proposes to add about 10,000 online policies through the portal in this year and generate over R20 crore in commission earnings. This online facility would be extended to other policies also, the statement added.
Icra puts IFCI under rating watch
Rating agency Icra on Wednesday put IFCI?s bond and commercial paper under rating watch with ?negative implications? triggering sell-off in that counter. IFCI had a ?A? rating on its R5,000 crore bank borrowing, R8,000 crore bonds and a short-term rating of A1 on its R500 crore commercial papers. The rating action comes two weeks after allegation of financial irregularities against the then CEO Atul Rai, who resigned last month. After the rating action, IFCI share price by 4.9% to R23.30 even as the Nifty was down 0.49% to 5,760.20 in a weak Mumbai market.