Religare plans quiet entry into health insurance

Have you heard of a company venturing into a new business, launching a new product but not go in for any advertisement campaign? Probably not.

 

However, Religare Enterprises is all set to buck this trend with its new health insurance business. It has decided to roll out its first health insurance product in a day or two but the full-fledged operations will start in the last quarter of this calendar year.

It aims to sell 1-2 lakh policies in the first year. The company will be a standalone health insurance company and not a general insurance one.

Mr Shachindra Nath, Group Chief Executive Officer of Religare Enterprises, told Business Line, “Our aspiration in this business is to be very transformational. We will not do any advertising for the first 12 months. We have a reasonable customer base, which we can approach without any brand promotion. Let people realise what kind of services we are offering.”

The group has also decided not to leverage its hospital chain Fortis for this venture. However, it will take help from the doctors and specialists in Fortis Hospitals to design its products. “These doctors have all the data to help us to understand the need of healthcare,” Mr Nath added.

The company has roped in Union Bank and Corporation Bank, which have both agreed to take five per cent equity each in the company. He said that this will give access to the 40 million customer base of these two banks.

“The company is starting this business with 100-odd locations, where we will use the existing branch network of Religare without creating standalone branches for health insurance. It will start with 250-300 people. This business is already capitalised with Rs 175 crore. The company aims to break even in 3-5 years,” Mr Nath said.

 

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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/article3616829.ece