Oriental shifts focus to retail insurance


New Delhi: Looking at the opportunities available in the retail space, public sector general insurer Oriental Insurance Company has shifted its focus towards retail products. "Our focus this year will be on retail products. We are moving away from company and group insurance segments and shifting our focus to products aimed at individuals," said M Ramadoss, Chairman and Managing Director of Oriental Insurance Company. Till last year, insurance companies used to get over 60 percent of their total premium income from company portfolios. But after the de-tariffing and competition due to entry of new players, premium income from company-related businesses has slowed down considerably. Oriental Insurance was planning to launch a series of new products aimed at the retail segment. "At present, we have 160 products overall and we are in the process of launching a few more. We have filed for a modified health insurance product, an overseas medical insurance product and two add-ons for motor insurance," said Ramadoss. The insurance company has also launched a web portal for selling online policies. The portal offers facility of online purchasing and renewal of six retail insurance products - including private car, two wheelers, householder's insurance, personal insurance and shopkeeper's insurance policies.