The Hindu : Business : LIC keen to enter health insurance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 16, 2005

Business

Business

LIC keen to enter health insurance

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: The Life Insurance Corporation of India is keen on foraying into the health insurance business once the necessary regulation is in place, A. K. Shukla, its chairman, said here on Tuesday.

In an informal interaction with press persons, after P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister, launched the corporation's e-portal, he said there was a lot of synergy between life and health insurance businesses.

On whether LIC had plans to set up a subsidiary for entering into health insurance, Mr. Shukla said the corporation would take a decision only after the regulations were in place.

Noting that at present "we do not have a health (insurance) regulator," he said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority was awaiting the recommendations of a committee constituted by it to go into the various aspects of the regulations.

Solvency margin

Replying to queries on the financials of the state-owned corporation, he said the provision made by LIC towards solvency margin was less than the norm set by IRDA, but the LIC would like the insurance regulator to take into account the government guarantee that the Corporation enjoyed.

"We have never faced any problem ... never invoked government guarantee... IRDA is looking at it,'' he said.

The nationalised insurance major had already set in motion the process of revaluation of its assets, particularly real estate. It had identified 70 properties throughout the country, which it intend to either develop as commercial or residential complexes or even sell.

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