With Allianz planning to exit the Bajaj Allianz partnership, firm's chief executive officer CEO Tapan Singhel says it is not a reason to worry, given its size and reach, the firm can withstand any turbulence.
Singhel, who was speaking to Moneycontrol at the Davos World Economic Forum, added that a proposal has not come to the board yet.
“It has to be addressed to the promoters. I have not seen anything coming to the board on this,” said Singhel, who has been with Bajaj Allianz for around 23 years, out of which close to 13 years have been as the CEO.
“When a company reaches this critical mass in terms of its size, in terms of its balance sheet, in terms of solvency it has, in terms of the amount of customers it has, and distribution network it has, then that company can withstand any kind of turbulent shocks, be it in the market, be it in any part of it. So, that I don't think is a worry,” Singhel added.
According to the company, the number of policies issued is the highest in the India at around 3.16 crore. The company also has one of the largest distribution strengths with over 240 banks, nearly every OEM and every motor dealer as its partners.
Singhel added that the company might have to go for an initial public offering ( IPO) sooner rather than later, as the regulator has been nudging most large companies to go public.
“The regulator is very clear. They want a listing of large companies. I think we have heard that. They have been nudging on that basis and, people would be thinking about it and taking it seriously. When and what? You have to ask the promoters,” Singhel said.
Ihe insurance industry has been urged the government to reduce the goods and services tax (GST) rate for higher adoption of health insurance. The recent GST council meeting considered the proposal but did not take a decision.
“People who are not insured, quite a few of them go below the poverty line because they cannot afford healthcare and it happens to about 10 crore Indians every year. So, some protection has to be in the form of health insurance, government, or trust. That's very critical,” Singhel said.
For every 100 rupees of premium that the industry takes, the outgo is close to 120. Singhel said that for the industry to grow bigger and better, not only tax rationalisation but the rise in hospital cost also has to be taken control of through regulatory measures.
According to Singhel, in 2024, the company paid close to 90,000 crore claims, about 66 percent of the claims were cashless. Regulations insist that companies give cashless approval in less than 30 minutes or an hour. As for the reimbursement part, companies have to approve in 15 days.
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