An agreement to this effect was signed between ICICI Ltd's joint managing director and chief operating officer (CEO) Lalita D Gupte and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd - Lombard's parent company chairman and CEO Prem Watsa.

Lombard is one of the oldest (it was started in 1804), property and casualty insurance companies in Canada. It is publicly listed, and the group has 20 insurance companies operating as standalone, separately branded entities.

The joint venture will be capitalised to the extent of Rs 100 crore or a higher amount according to the business plan. Business knowledge, including product expertise and technology, will be provided by Lombard. ICICI will bring in brand equity, a distribution network, a corporate relationship and its strength in information technology. The joint venture intends to build expertise in the areas of underwriting, re-insurance, claims and investment management. ICICI's senior general manager, Sanjiv Kerkar, will head the joint-venture.

Speaking to the The Financial Express, Mr Kerkar said: "The joint venture will offer both commercial and personal lines of general insurance products to corporate and retail customers."

Mr Kerkar added that the recent opening of the domestic insurance sector has provided ICICI with an opportunity to increase its product suite in line with its strategy to be a `universal bank'.

ICICI said that its quest for a partner was based on the premise that a complementarity of skills was necessary for an enduring and successful business relationship in the general insurance area. Given ICICI's strong corporate relationship, growing retail customer base and a technology enabled multi-channel distribution network, it was looking for a partner which offered relevant domain knowledge, a culture oriented towards quick decision-making and business processes based on high technology. ICICI also cited its competitive advantage to significantly cross-sell through an extensive distribution network, ready access to a retail and corporate customer base, a sound technology-infrastructure for efficient back office processing, and the strength of its brand as key factors working in its favour.