Business

Cholamandalam MS ties up with IndusInd Bank

CHENNAI: Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd. (Chola MS) has written a gross premium of around Rs. 315 crore so far this year. Last year, it wrote a gross premium of Rs. 314 crore and also broke-even.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday to announce the company’s bancassurance tie-up with IndusInd Bank, a new generation private bank, Anandan, Managing Director of Chola MS, said despite drop in prices in the wake of de-tariffication, business had grown over 70 per cent this year. He was confident that Chola MS would grow its bottomline by scaling up business volume even while being careful in risk assessment.

He said the company would lay much store by better management of claims. Mr. Anandan said the tie-up with IndusInd Bank would help Chola write a premium income of around Rs. 250 crore in the next three years.

In view of the expanding business, Chola MS, he said, was moving over to a new IT (information technology) system. The existing IT infrastructure had to be junked as it could not serve the new demands. The company had roped in TCS and CMC to put in place a new IT infrastructure.

He expected the new system to be in place in the next few months. All new customers in the next financial year would be loaded on to the new system. Chola MS, he said, would spend around Rs. 15 crore in the new system.

Bhaskar Ghose, Managing Director and CEO, IndusInd Bank, said the gross business of the bank stood at Rs. 30,000 crore. About 70 per cent of its loan portfolio was retail. This had happened post-merger of Ashok Leyland Finance with it a few years ago.

Mr. Ghose said the Reserve Bank of India had allowed the bank to use 600-odd branches of the marketing subsidiary of erstwhile Ashok Leyland Finance to distribute the entire range of its retail products, including the insurance ones.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu