Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 13 (ANI/NewsVoir): HDFC ERGO General Insurance (HDFC ERGO), India's third-largest general insurance company in the private sector, announces the completion of the merger of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance (formerly known as Apollo Munich Health Insurance) with HDFC ERGO.
Pursuant to approval of the merger by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the receipt of final approval from IRDAI, the merger was given effect to on November 13, 2020. The merged entity is HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited.
"The merger of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance with HDFC ERGO General Insurance is a moment of pride for us. This marks the second successful merger in India's general insurance sector, following the merger of L & T General Insurance and HDFC ERGO in 2017. It makes HDFC ERGO the one-stop-shop for all our general and health insurance offerings. Health insurance is expected to be one of the growth drivers for the general insurance industry, and with this merger, we are now a dominant player within the health insurance industry," said Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd., while speaking on the occasion.
"The merger provides us with the opportunity to grow by increasing our footprint and distribution network, in line with our strategic objective to be amongst the top private insurers in our core markets. We fully believe in the HDFC ERGO management, which has done a great job putting tremendous effort into the merger of the two companies. We expect significant synergy potential based on our mature business practices such as high degree of automation and scale, leading to cost efficiencies and better operating ratios," said Oliver Willmes, COO ERGO International and Director, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd., speaking on the occasion.
"We welcome the policyholders and channel partners of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance into our family and assure them of a seamless transition and enhanced customer experience with the combined expertise of both the entities. We also welcome the employees of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance into our family. Further, our existing policyholders and channel partners will now be able to access the wider product suite of the merged entity and the health insurance expertise and products of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance," said Ritesh Kumar, MD and CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd.
"The merger of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance with HDFC ERGO culminates about 10 months of efforts to integrate both the entities. We would like to assure our policyholders of continuity of benefits, access to wider product suite and access to digital capabilities of HDFC ERGO. Our channel partners will now have access to the combined health insurance product suite of the merged entity," said Anuj Tyagi, MD and CEO, HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Ltd.
The merger makes HDFC ERGO the second-largest private insurer in the Accident and Health Insurance business, expanding its product suite to 50 plus products in this segment. In FY2019-20, the merged entity had an overall market share of 6.2 per cent and an about 8 per cent market share in the Accident and Health Insurance segment. The policyholders will continue to have access to the cashless network of 10,000 plus hospitals. They will also benefit from the enhanced reach of HDFC ERGO, which is now present in 203 physical offices across 170 cities and another 250 plus digital offices across the country.
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd. is a 51:49 joint venture between the Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC); India's premier Housing Finance Institution and ERGO Group AG; the primary insurance entity of the Munich Re Group of Germany. HDFC ERGO, the third-largest General Insurance provider in the private sector, offers the complete range of general insurance products including Motor, Health, Home, Agriculture, Travel, Credit, Cyber and Personal Accident in the retail space and Property, Marine, Engineering, Marine Cargo, Group Health and Liability Insurance in the corporate space.
Over the last few years, HDFC ERGO has constantly endeavoured to not just align itself to the evolving market needs, but instead be a pioneer in terms of its offerings. Having its ears to the ground has helped the Company create a stream of highly targeted new products and AI-based tools and technology. Be it unique insurance products, integrated customer service models, top-in-class claim process or a host of technologically innovative solutions, the Company has been able to delight its customers at every touch-point and every milestone.
With a wide distribution network and a 24x7 support team, the Company has been offering seamless customer service and innovative products to its customers. Please log on to www.hdfcergo.com for more information on HDFC ERGO and the products and services offered by the Company.
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