General/ Non-Life

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC)

The ECGC Limited (Formerly Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd) is a company wholly owned by the Government of India based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It provides export credit insurance support to Indian exporters and is controlled by the Ministry of Commerce. Government of India had initially set up Export Risks Insurance Corporation (ERIC) in July 1957. It was transformed into Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation Limited (ECGC) in 1964 and to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India in 1983. ECGC Ltd, was established in July, 1957 to strengthen the export promotion by covering the risk of exporting on credit. It functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Commerce, Government of India. It is managed by an Asset Management Company comprising representatives of the Government, , banking, insurance and exporting community. Name of the company has been changed from Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited to ECGC Limited with effect from 8 August 2014 as per certificate issued by Deputy Registrar of Companies, Registrar of Companies, Mumbai. ECGC Ltd is the seventh largest credit insurer of the world in terms of coverage of national exports. The present paid-up capital of the company is Rs. 1200 crores and authorized capital Rs.5000 crores.

Functions of ECGC Ltd.

 Provides a range of credit risk insurance covers to exporters against loss in export of goods and services as well.

 Offers guarantees to banks and financial institutions to enable exporters to obtain better facilities from them.

 Provides Overseas Investment Insurance to Indian companies investing in joint ventures abroad in the form of equity or loan and advances.

Facilities Provided by ECGC

 Offers insurance protection to exporters against payment risks

 Provides guidance in export-related activities

 Makes available information on different countries with its own credit ratings  Makes it easy to obtain export finance from banks/financial institutions

 Assists exporters in recovering bad debt

 Provides information on credit-worthiness of overseas buyers

Need for export credit insurance

Payments for exports are open to risks even at the best of times. The risks have assumed large proportions today due to the far-reaching political and economic changes that are sweeping the world. An outbreak of war or civil war may block or delay payment for goods exported. A coup or an insurrection may also bring about the same result. Economic difficulties or balance of payment problems may lead a country to impose restrictions on either import of certain goods or on transfer of payments for goods imported. In addition, the exporters have to face commercial risks of insolvency of buyers. The commercial risks of a foreign buyer going bankrupt or losing his capacity to pay are aggravated due to the political and economic uncertainties. Export credit insurance is designed to protect exporters from the consequences of the payment risks, both political and commercial, and to enable them to expand their overseas business without fear of loss.

List of Private Non- Life/General Insurance Companies in India

Many insurance companies in India offer general insurance to cater to the needs of different individuals. Some of the non-life insurance companies in India are:

Apollo Munich Insurance

When it comes to offering quality healthcare, Apollo has become synonymous in India by setting a status quote in the national and international level. In order to ensure world- class health care easily accessible to everyone, Apollo Hospital Group joined hands with Munich Health- a world-class leader in , this joint venture is known as Apollo Munich. Since its inception, the insurer never fails to satisfy its customers. One of the leading general insurance companies in India, Apollo Munich comes with a handsome claim settlement ratio and claims settled within thirty days of duration. Various insurance products offered by the insurer include health, motor, travel, personal accident etc.

Bajaj General Insurance

Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE joined hands in the year 2001 and formed Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company. The services offered by the company are IRDA certified and cater to the various insurance needs of the people. This makes it one of the best insurance companies in India. The insurer offers insurance solutions in the both life and non-life category. The most famous products include health, travel, motor, home, life insurance etc.

Tata AIG Insurance

Headquartered in Mumbai, TATA AIG General Insurance was founded in the year 2001 and is now counted in the best insurance companies in India. The company is a result of the collaboration with American International Group and is considered among the best insurance companies. The insurer introduced a range of innovative products to cater to the different needs of its customers. Tata AIG is famous for motor insurance, health insurance, and travel insurance. It also offers insurance to Private Client Group, which includes clients like artists, entrepreneurs and royal families.

HDFC General Insurance

A joint venture between HDFC Ltd., Housing Finance Institution in India and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance entity of Group, HDFC General is one of the most popular and best insurance companies in India. The insurer offers complete insurance solutions by categorising its products into motor, health, travel, home in the personal insurance space while property, marine, liability insurance into corporate insurance space. In the year the company merged into L&T General Insurance. With more than 120 branches and more than 3000 employees, the insurer has its presence in more than 106 cities across India.

Reliance General Insurance

With its 139 branches and more than 28,900 intermediaries all over the country, Reliance General Insurance is one of the renowned names in the list of best insurance companies in India. The insurance products offered by the insurer can be categorised into health travel, motor, home, marine, etc. The insurer doesn’t limit itself to insurance and claims but also encourages the people to follow a healthy standard of living. The company believes in making affordable insurance accessible to all.

IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd

Laid its foundation stone in the year 2000, IFFCO Tokio is collaboration between , Farmer Fertilizers Co-operative and Nichido Fire Group, a famous fire insurance group in Japan. Since its inception, the insurer has been serving with various non-life insurance products including health, motor, home, travel, SME etc. and is now counted amongst the best insurance companies in India.

Future Generali General Insurance Company Ltd

Future Generali India is a joint venture between Generali Group and Future Group. The company provides comprehensive insurance solutions through a range of personal, retail, commercial and rural insurance products. Incorporated in 2007, the company was formed with the motive to help its clients to mitigate their financial needs. Marking its presence in more than 125 cities in India the various insurance products of the insurer, it offers motor, health, travel, home, PMFBY, lifestyle, commercial, rural etc.

Liberty General Insurance

Liberty General Insurance has started its operations in the year 2013. It is a joint venture between Liberty Citystate Holdings PTE Ltd, Liberty Industries Limited and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. The insurer, being one of the best insurance companies in India strives for providing retail, commercial and industrial insurance solutions. Insurance products like car insurance, two-wheeler insurance, commercial insurance, and health insurance are among the sought-after products in the market.

Max Health Insurance Company

Max India Limited and the UK based healthcare services expert, Bupa joined hands to form Max Bupa Health Insurance Company. With 29 million customer-bases in over 190 countries, the insurer’s vision is to become the most admired health insurance company in India. The company specialises in both health and insurance related services including hospitals, clinical research and life insurance and ranks in the list of the best insurance companies in India.

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Formed as collaboration between Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited, Japan, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance offers a range of insurance products to cater to the different needs of the individual. The insurance products offered by the company can be categorised into health insurance, motor insurance, personal accident insurance, travel insurance, marine insurance, liability insurance etc.

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Company Ltd

Formerly known as Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company, Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Company Limited is collaboration between Manipal Group, a leader in healthcare delivery and Cigna Corporation, a global health services company. With the motive of spreading wellness and good healthcare, Manipal Cigna offers a handful of insurance products ranging from health, travel, personal accident, SME, insurance for employer-employee, and non-employer-employee. The insurer offers quality healthcare and safeguards long term financial goals of its users and hence is one of the leading and best insurance companies in India.

Star Health and Allied Insurance

Commenced its operations in the year 2006, Star Health and Allied Insurance company has spread its services in health insurance, overseas medical insurance, and personal accident Insurance. The insurer is famous for its service excellence. The insurer offers a wide range of insurance products, whole-heartedly dedicated to health insurance. With a decent claim settlement ratio it ranks amongst the best insurance companies in India.

Go Digit General Insurance

India’s first digital insurer backed by Fairfax, Digit General Insurance is also known as Go Digit. The insurer offers a range of non-life insurance products in the category car, two-wheelers, travel, health, home and mobile insurance. The insurer has tie-ups with market leaders such as Policybazaar.com, PayTM, Tanishq, and Cleartrip to ensure a wider audience.

Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Ltd

Raheja QBE is the joint venture of Prism Cement Limited, India and QBE Holdings (AAP) Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of QBE Insurance Group Limited. Headquartered in Mumbai, the insurer received its Certificate of Registration from IRDA in 2008 and is now considered as one of the best insurance companies in India. Since then, it has been serving the industry with an A+ rating for excellence. The various insurance products offered by the insurer include Health insurance, corporate insurance, health insurance, motor insurance etc.

Religare Health Insurance

Awarded as the ‘Best Health Insurance Company’ at the ABP News-BFSI Awards & ‘Claims Service Leader of the Year, Religare Health Insurance currently offers insurance products in the retail segment for health insurance, personal accident, critical Illness, top-up coverage, international travel insurance and maternity insurance along with group health insurance and group personal accident insurance for corporate houses.

Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited

Royal Sundaram General Insurance, formerly known as Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance, is the first of its kind to be licensed in October 2000 under IRDA. It holds a rank in the list of best insurance companies in India. The insurer was initially a joint venture of Sundaram Finance, a famous non-banking institute and other Indian Shareholders. Insurance International N.V. acquired 40 per cent of the equity stake and left 10 per cent for Indian Shareholders. The insurer offers a range of insurance products with over 200 employees and 143 branches across the country. The most sought-after products include-car, health home, travel, bike, personal accident, commercial vehicle, business etc.

SBI General Insurance Company Ltd

Founded in the year 2010, SBI General Insurance is a joint venture between two financial giants - State Bank of India (SBI) and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). The insurer offers a range of insurance products in commercial and retail space at affordable premiums and ranks amongst the best insurance companies in India. The comprehensive range of products includes- health, motor, personal accident, travel, home insurance etc.

Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd

The insurance company is the result of the collaboration between Joint Venture between Shriram Capital Ltd. and Sanlam Limited (South Africa). The insurer started its operations in 2012. The company believes in providing comprehensive insurance solutions through its innovative products in the category car, two-wheelers, travel, home, personal accident, commercial vehicle insurance, business insurance etc.

Bharti General Insurance Company

Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd. is a collaboration of AXA – world pioneer in financial protection and Bharti Enterprise – a leading Indian business group. Established in 2008, the general insurance company is licensed with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA). The insurance provider offers a wide range of general insurance products including Health, Motor, Home, Travel, etc.

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd. is a private-public joint venture between three public-sector banks namely, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Allahabad Bank, and Karnataka Bank; Dabur India Ltd. – one of the leading FMGC Companies of India, and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa – a private Japanese insurance company based out in Tokyo.

Source:

 Financial Markets and Institutions (Taxmann’s) by Dr. Vinod Kumar, Atul Gupta and Manmeet Kaur (January 2018)  Financial Markets and Institutions (Galgotia Publishing Company) by Dr. Kalpana Kataria and Dr. Arshi Zareen (2018)  www.ecgcltd.in  www.policybazaar.com  www.investopedia.com  www.policyholder.gov.in  www.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_insurance  www.commerce.gov.in Disclaimer: 1. These notes are only for the students. 2. These notes are prepared after referring various books and websites.