Private equity funding for insurance start-ups

IRDAI Chairman T S Vijayan mentioned at the 19^th CII Insurance Summit that there was scope for a lot of small insurance companies today with focus on specific area of operation. “What you need is capital and cost structure to support it. If you want to float a small company, you cannot pay a CEO six-digit salaries .We have received a couple of proposals from private equity companies. We have not made up our mind. We would like to see the face of the person investing and whether he is in a position to support the company for a longer term of 8-10 years. Whether the person is fit and proper? Or whether there is someone hiding behind a fund” said Viajayan, Acko is one of the proposed non-life companies that are backed by PEs, including Narayana Murthy’s Cataraman. The second company is a proposed health insurance firm promoted by former PNBBSE -2.90 % MetLife CEO Rajesh Relan backed by Arth Capital and Macquarie investment fund.