In addition, an expert committee under the chairmanship of K.P.Geethakrishnan, former Union finance secretary, has been constituted to advise the company on how to function in a deregulated environment. The company has earmarked a capital expenditure of Rs.100 crore for this purpose. This would facilitate faster issuance of policies and speedier claims settlement. United India has already begun such activity in a small way. According to officials, the totally integrated underwriting, accounts and claims module would cover about 170 insurance products in the company's portfolio.
Muscle flexing Insurance companies globally are major investors in securities.
And Indian insurers are no exception. It is their income from investments that sustains them as they continue to post underwriting losses. The company invested Rs. 1,483.30 crore in joint and private sector companies in 1998-99, and the market value of its equity portfolio at the end of that fiscal was Rs.2,019.03 crore. These figures were achieved despite the Union government compelling the company to invest in low yielding government securities and in social sectors.