Apollo JV mulls health insurance biz foray

Apollo Group and German-based Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG (DKV) plan to enter the health insurance business in India, the country's insurance regulator said today.

"Apollo group has applied for a license to set up a health insurance company," C S Rao, chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDA), said here on the sidelines of an international conference on micro health insurance.

The two companies had formed a joint venture company - Apollo DKV Insurance Company - with an equity capital of Rs 100 crore. The German company will have 26% stake in the JV, the maximum that a foreign company is allowed in the insurance sector. Apollo group companies would hold the remaining 74%.

The company plans to initially offer in-patients and travel health insurance products. One company already provides standalone health insurance -Star Health Insurance.

Rao said activities like setting up of power plant within the special economic zones (SEZs) is eligible for insurance cover as it is part of infrastructure, but not the development of SEZs.

On the growth of insurance industry, Rao said life insurance is growing 35% on an average while for non-life it is 15%.