General insurance partner to be in place in 6 months

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest public sector bank, will finalise a partner for its proposed general insurance venture in 3-6 months. This was indicated by the chairman Om Prakash Bhatt today.

"We are interested in the general insurance business and are talking to some foreign companies in this regard. We expect to make a formal announcement in 3-6 months", Bhatt said.

A total of 6-7 companies from Australia, Europe and United States have evinced an interest in the proposed joint venture. "We are in the process of short listing 2-3 companies", Bhatt said, without divulging any further details.

Since the insurance business is very technical, the bank was interested in a partner who knew the rules of the game."We are looking for a partner having product development expertise in sectors such as micro-insurance", Bhatt said.

When his attention was drawn to the choice of foreign partners instead of domestic general insurance companies, Bhatt said that almost all general insurance companies in the country are in the public sector. Good companies are needed to cover unreached areas and deliver products targeting different segments, he observed.

While the economy is booming, growth is confined to big corporates, export-oriented industries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while leaving small businesses and artisans untouched. The public sector and government is taking the initiative to provide insurance coverage to the excluded sectors, he added.