According to New India general manager CN Ravi, who, along with another general manager AP Pradhan, is at present jointly holding the post of chairman and managing director of New India, ``cooperative competition'' by which the insurance companies share business is a worldwide practice and will be adopted in the country once the new companies start business. Both Ravi and Pradhan haver taken charge of the top post. SK Kanwar had retired as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the New India on June 1.

``We will be happy to share our business with the new players and vice versa,'' Ravi said adding that this was an appropriate strategy to increase the volume of business and to ensure growth in the era of competition.

As such the new companies cannot underwrite bigger business as their initial low capital base will not permit them to do so and it (shareing business) has to be a necessary strategy to share big business with the existing big companies. Even the present practice has been to share the business among the existing state-owned subsidiaries.

Outlining their immediate strategy for the company, both Ravi and Pradhan said that the company would reposition itself as the leader of the industry with necessary realistic and grassroots level programmes.

``A selective, top marketing team of the company will meet for a brainstorming session soon to chalk out the new marketing plan to develop packaged, integrated products for each segment of the market,'' Ravi said.The company has already introduced a couple of new products and is planning to launch more diversified products in near future to meet the market demand, said Ravi.

The company will unveil a new thrust on selling personal line of products, which is practically an untapped market.

``The money we might be losing out from the reduction in fire premium can well be compensated by transacting more personal line of products,'' Ravi said.

Though the company has its e-commerce plans ready for implementation, it would not be proper to reveal more on this front, Pradhan said.

``In the next few months, the customer will have high-tech facilities to buy products from the company,'' he said.

Both Ravi and Pradhan were of the opinion that New India assurance should be allowed to remain an independent outfit, in case it was getting delinked from General Insurance Corporation(GIC) during the deregulated era.

``We prefer an independent board-run company than merger of subsidiaries,''Ravi said.