“The JV has applied for a preliminary licence to the regulator and it will start with more than ₹300 crore of initial investment,” said a source aware of the plans. Another insurance veteran, V Jagannathan, the founder of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, has also sought to set up a standalone health insurance company, as reported earlier.
During the R1 stage of insurance company registration, the insurance regulator scrutinises documents and business projections and seek clarifications before approving the R1 letter.
Once R1 is approved, the applicant applies for R2 followed by R3, the final stage. Sam Ghosh declined to comment while Qatar Insurance could not be reached for a comment immediately. Sam Ghosh entered the mutual fund industry forming a JV with Orowealth. Earlier in December 2022, Cosmea had shown interest in bidding for Reliance Capital during the insolvency process along with Piramal Group. However, they pulled out of the race to acquire debt-ridden Anil Ambani Group’s erstwhile company.
Qatar Insurance Company, founded in 1964, was the first domestic insurance company in the state of Qatar and is the largest insurance company in the MENA region in terms of written premium and total assets. It is listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation in excess of QAR 8 billion, according to the information on their website.
There are 28 life insurance companies and 28 general insurance companies. During FY23, Irdai had given licences to three insurance companies. The non-life insurance industry underwrote a total direct premium of ₹2.57 lakh crore in FY22-23, registering a growth of 16.4% from previous year.Within the various segments under general insurance business, health insurance business is the largest segment with a contribution of 38.02 % of the total premium followed by motor 32%.