The non-traditional business, which includes savings-linked products, and its managed care business, besides a personal line of products, will provide the company with much-needed growth in coming days, said Oriental Insurance Company chairman and Managing Director, BD Banerjee.

It will be possible to opt for a small loan in the existing Mediclaim policy, following the launch of managed care products, he stated. "The government has completely ruled out any merger possibility of the four companies and GIPSA has been set up by these companies to facilitate co-ordination among themselves," he said. "We are ready for competition and are looking at the twin objectives of growth and profitability," he stated.

He also added that quality underwriting will be the company's new mantra. If necessary, OIC will examine increasing its premium among the existing line products, which are at present tariff-linked to provide more facilities and make services more efficient, he said. "Tariff as prescribed by the Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) is always the minimum and nothing really prevents us from hiking it to provide better facilities to customers," Mr Banerjee asserted.

In future, products will be segment specific and customised, he said. About the company's declining business prospects and mounting losses being faced, by state owned non-life companies in recent times, Mr Banerjee said that things are changing. "We are undertaking re-engineering processes in our branches in terms of both manpower and business," he noted. Also, in the future, OIC will not undertake certain categories of loss making businesses and also favour a cap in third-party motor losses. "Very soon, we will be able to adopt a cap in liability arising out of motor losses," he said. The company is also very keen on introducing a specialist underwriting culture in the organisation. OIC is also preparing a blueprint to merge or close down some of its unviable branches which are located within close proximity to each other. It has also received accreditation for eleven training institutes.

In the second phase, four state-owned non-life companies will try to bring about synergy, on the issue of branch location. Like its Mumbai-based counterpart New India Assurance, OIC is setting up full-fledged research and development (R&D) units in its head office, to develop new products and fine-tune existing ones. O IC is planning to reorient the activities of its officers for marketing purposes.