The proposed merger of the three state-owned general insurance firms may happen only in the next fiscal.
The government had announced merger of National Insurance Company, United India Insurance Company and Oriental India Insurance Company in the Budget 2018.
The government has now directed these firms to make their operations more efficient and low cost, while the companies are also looking at monetizing their assets including real estate to raise revenues.
In quarter ended September last year, the three insurers had posted a combined loss of around Rs.1,800 crore.
“The market share of all the public sector general insurance companies has also come down,” the Oriental Insurance executive said.
Oriental had posted a loss of Rs 240 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal, against a profit of Rs 200 crore in the quarter ended September 2017. As per latest data from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), market share of National Insurance Company for gross direct premium till December 2018 fell by 9.52% to 8.63%.
United India Insurance share also came down by around 4.88%. Last year, the government had initiated a six-point reform agenda for general insurers which included sustainable and prudent business, talent management and customer orientation.