In a significant development, public sector general insurance companies, led by New India Assurance, have lost their leadership in providing insurance cover to the country?s largest private sector company, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which has assets of around Rs 50,000 crore.
ICICI Lombard, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, has for the first time bagged the leadership position in insuring the RIL assets, consisting of all its petrochemical and textile plants, including the assets of IPCL, which is being merged with RIL. RIL has also foreclosed its policy with New India Assurance and brought forward its renewal to August 1. The RIL policy is usually renewed at the beginning of October every year.
Though the exact premium amount is not known, it is believed that the company has managed a discount over last year?s premium of Rs 150 crore.
Private sector general insurers managed only a small share in the RIL account earlier, as the company preferred the relative safety and size of public sector companies. However, sources point out that during the current renewal process, the close business relationship between ICICI Bank and RIL played an important role in awarding the mega deal to ICICI Lombard.
The four PSUs have already lost over 35% of marketshare to the private sector.