Star Health to rope in additional Rs 120 cr this financial year

Chennai:

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company shareholders will bring in another Rs 120 crore by March for business operations, according to the company’s chairman and managing director V Jagannathan.

Addressing a press conference to announce a customer-friendly revised Family Health Optima policy, he said the shareholders have already roped in Rs 50 crore by December 2011 and it is expected that they will be infusing another 120 crore  (rpt Rs 120 crore) by March 2012.

The company has a share capital of rs 438 crore and its investors include Star Health, which owns 40 per cent of shares, Sequoia Capital (25 per cent), Oman Insurance (10 per cent), ICICI (22 per cent) besides other individuals.

He said the company is likely to complete Rs 1,200 crore premium this financial year and expected the next year also to be the same but predicted Rs 2000 crore premium by 2013-14.

He also said the company has incurred business loss worth Rs 600 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 200 crore loss in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the company also showcased its revised product Family Health Optima. “In case of Rs 3 lakh sum insured under this policy, if the total sum insured is exhausted, 50 per cent of the sum insured will be reinstated for illness other than the illness for which the earlier sum insured was exhausted,” said D Rama, assistant vice-president of the company.

Likewise, 100 per cent of the sum insured will be reinstated in this policy for Rs 4 lakh of sum insured. No additional premium is charged for reinstatement and the policy will carry no claim bonus by way of increase in sum insured, she said.

The premium structure also underwent changes  which is high in zones where loss ratio is higher than the zones where the claims ratio is less. Besides the room rent in the policy has been revised upwards, she added.