Bharti Axa general Insurance plans to enter travel insurance segment

Bharti Axa general insurance company is proposing to enter travel insurance segment and has sought approval from the Insurance Regulator and Development Authority (Irda) for launching travel insurance product.

At present, Bharti Axa sells comprehensive health insurance plans, motor insurance and two-wheeler insurance. Bharti Axa General Insurance is a joint venture between, telecom company Bharti group and French insurance major Axa Group.

“Travel insurance is a small segment of general insurance industry, which contributes around two to four per cent of the total portfolio. However, this is an important segment to be in, and with our tie-up with Axa Group we feel that we will be able to perform very well in this segment,” said Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, chief executive officer and managing director of Bharti Axa General Insurance Company.

Typically, health insurance segment remains the main growth driver for general insurance companies with registering around 30 per cent year-on-year growth.

Bharti Axa has filed three different travel insurance policies for the regulator’s approval. Travel insurance policies meant for foreign travel will be branded as smart traveler, which will be targeted towards individuals, corporate travel and students. In order to differentiate its product from rest of the products available in the market, Bharti Axa has incorporated coverage for flight booking if traveler is denied boarding due to overbooking, alternate employee expenses and laptop cover.

Travel insurance segment has failed to make an impact so far due to lack of awareness among travelers.

Insurer has not filed any domestic travel insurance policy for regulator’s approval.

By Sagar Sen, Shruti Verma Khare Jan 26 2012 , New Delhi
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