ICIC Lombard share market

ICIC Lombard share market

PRIVATE insurance players belonging to both life and non-life segments have significantly improved their market share during the first half of the current fiscal year ended September 30, as per the figures compiled by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

The market share of private sector life insurers in terms of premium collections has nearly doubled to 10.95 per cent during the first half of current fiscal compared to 5.66 per cent during the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

'It is a buyer’s market; challenge lies with the players to grow the market’

ICICI Lombard General Insurance, a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Canada-based Lombard, has been able to establish itself as a numero uno private sector general insurance company in a short span of two-and-a-half years. With a sound track record of profit and performance, it may become the first insurance company to hit the capital market.

The company’s CEO & managing director Sandeep Bakhshi speaks to Sitanshu Swain of The Financial Express about a range of issues in the liberalised general insurance sector. Excerpts:

Opening a new savings account in ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank is one of the largest private sector banks in India. And they are one of the many companies, which irritate me with their telemarketing personals.

However, when I myself go to their bank to get some work done, they are practically the worst people to deal with considering the conditions they put before for us the consumer.

2 weeks and I am still waiting for them to submit my new credit card application. I have been an ICICI Credit Card holder for more than a year and have used it heavily. And I pay the credit card bills on time. However, they won’t accept my history from this card to issue me a new card with better spending limits.

And today I went my cousin to the ICICI Bank Pitampura to help him open a savings account in the bank. He had his driver’s license and the government issued Voter’s ID Card as proof of his existence.

Nevertheless, the bank typical of their nature asked for something he did not have. They wanted him to submit his Passport photocopy as the proof of his existence! So, the card which enables him to vote to select his representative in the Indian Parliament is not good enough for opening a bank account… Funny.

The next option was a check issued from an existing bank account… Funny, how would anyone open his/her first account in a bank if he is supposed to submit his existing bank account details to open a bank account! Very similar to how it is with jobs for a fresher. People need experienced personals but how would anyone gain experience if everyone demands experience!

Apparently, they had a loophole for us for this situation. They recommended that we open a bank account in a government bank considering they are very loose in issuing bank accounts without any solid verification. And they would open an account for him using that bank account statement as a proof!

The simple funda is that ICICI does not want to do the hard part of knowing the new savings bank account holder by verifying him and his address personally. They had rather have a government bank to blame if one of their accounts holders commits some fraud!

Very disappointing indeed…