Business
Govt-owned insurers goes for organisational rejig, calls for consultants
Is the central government moving towards merging its four general insurance companies into one?
The question pops up as the four general insurers have decided to restructure the organisation towards profitable growth and have called for Request for Proposal (RFP) from consultancy firms.
The assignment is called “Organisational Efficiencies and Performance Management in Public Sector General Insurance Companies.”
The four insurers are: The Oriental Insurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limited, The New India Assurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited.
Of the four, The New India Assurance is listed in the stock exchanges.
As per the tender, the companies are calling for one consultant for the assignment which is logical as the process, human resource policies and procedures are uniform in the four companies, a senior industry official told IANS.
Though the central government did not proceed further on its earlier announcement to merge the three unlisted non-life insurers- The Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance- or to privatise one of the three.
Given this, the current move seems to be the logical step towards that, say senior industry officials.
Further, the employees in the four companies also demand the same.
According to a senior industry official, the privatisation move is still on the cards and merger is not in consideration of the government.
Be that as it may, as per the RFP, the four companies are undergoing a transformative journey for the last two years with successfully running on the path to profitable growth and efficiencies, optimisation.
“This, being the third year, is earmarked for Organisational Efficiencies.”
Accordingly, there is a proposal for restructuring the organisation to bring in profitable growth and employee development through Performance Management and Capability
Management, in alignment with the key performance indicators (KPI) devised the public sector general insurance companies.
The four companies have found a need for a consultant who could quickly absorb itself into this journey of ongoing reforms and permeate them into each and every branch and staff by designing, handholding and successfully implementing the process of such transition through organisational restructuring, performance management and its real-time measurement, allocation of specific roles and responsibilities as well as performance indicators for sales, non-sales and support staff, capacity and capability building and carefully crafted change management approach.
As on 31.03.2022, the four insurers together have procured a total premium of Rs.75,116 crore with a market share of around 34 per cent.
The total employees’ strength is around 44,743 spread over 6,759 offices.
The expected duration of the proposed assignment for the selected consultants is 10 months, with a provision for extension, if required on existing terms.
As per the RFP, the scope of work involves organisational restructuring that is irreversible providing for digitally enabled workflows to convert operating offices into customer experience and business development centres while centralising underwriting/claims/accounts and others into the Regional Hubs;
– activate all three key channels for retail business growth namely, Agency, Bancassurance and Alternative channels through suitable sales management, incentives and rewards processes;
– create/shift large corporate businesses (both direct and broker-driven) at select6-8 locations, directly reporting to the Head Office.
– provide capacity planning framework through manpower redistribution for both Business Development (BD) and Non-BD roles, with a clear focus on retail business through pre-underwritten products and simplified processes;
– provide a comprehensive reskilling/up – skilling and capability building framework for BD, Non-BD, large corporate and vertical teams to cope with the above restructuring in a confident and motivated manner;
– handhold the insurers in implementing the new organisation structure across functions and geographies by providing carefully designed and sensitively implemented change management approach and communication framework;
– designing objective and quantifiable KPIs for each unique role along with their measurable outcomes and its integration with the performance appraisal system for each PSGIC to achieve y-o-y milestones;
– based on the above KPIs, creating performance dashboards for each sales and non-sales staff at the Operating Offices, Regional Offices and Head Office as well as across functions linked with the core system.
While the majority of the work is centered around a common approach for all the four insurers, the implementation shall happen at individual company level.
“Broadly, 80 per cent of the proposed assignment shall be allocated towards creating unified/common strategies/methodology and frameworks while 20 per cent of the proposed assignment will be allocated towards customising and rolling them out at individual company level,” the RFP said.
Interested consultancy firms should submit their proposals to the Chief Executive, General Insurers’ (Public Sector) Association of India (GIPSA), the coordinating body for the project.
Business
Gold, silver gain up to 2 pc amid optimism over West Asia peace talks

Mumbai, June 12: Gold and silver prices traded higher on Friday, with precious metals surging by up to 2 per cent amid hopes of a peace deal in the ongoing West Asia conflict.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures (August) increased as much as 1.11 per cent or Rs 1,668 to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,50,600 as of around 11:30 am.
The yellow metal was trading at Rs 1,49,916, up 0.66 per cent or Rs 948. It touched an intraday low of Rs 1,49,569, a gain of 0.42 per cent or Rs 637 from the previous close.
Meanwhile, silver futures (July) traded at Rs 2,42,143, higher by Rs 2,490 or 1 per cent.
The white metal touched an intraday high of Rs 2,44,817, jumping 2.15 per cent during the session so far. It recorded an intraday low of Rs 2,41,601, up 0.81 per cent or Rs 1,948 from the previous close.
Earlier in the day, gold and silver began the session at Rs 1,50,595 and Rs 2,42,776, respectively, on the commodity exchange.
According to commodity market experts, bullion remained under pressure overall and was headed for a second consecutive weekly decline as persistent inflation concerns and growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate hike continued to weigh on sentiment.
Analysts said precious metals rebounded sharply from six-month lows after US President Donald Trump indicated that the US and Iran could reach a peace agreement as early as this weekend.
However, gains remained limited amid continued uncertainty over the negotiations, with Iranian officials denying that a final agreement had been reached, according to them.
Optimism around a potential diplomatic breakthrough eased concerns over global energy supplies, triggering a decline in crude oil prices and improving broader market risk appetite, experts added.
Market participants will now track developments in US-Iran negotiations and upcoming commentary from the Federal Reserve for further direction in precious metal prices.
In international markets, COMEX silver traded at $66.94, up more than 4 per cent, while COMEX gold rose over 2 per cent to $4,203.70 per ounce.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices declined sharply, with US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude falling roughly 3 per cent to $85 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude declined 1.59 per cent to $88.94 per barrel.
Business
Gold, silver prices fall up to 2 pc amid West Asia tensions

Mumbai, June 11: Gold and silver prices traded lower on Thursday, with precious metals falling by up to 2 per cent amid escalating tensions in the West Asia conflict.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures (August) declined as much as 1 per cent or Rs 1,573 to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,46,444 as of around 12 pm.
The yellow metal was trading at Rs 1,47,860, down 0.11 per cent or Rs 157. It touched an intraday high of Rs 1,48,089, up 0.04 per cent or Rs 72 from the previous close.
On the other hand, silver futures (July) were trading at Rs 2,34,500, down Rs 1,005 or 0.43 per cent.
The white metal touched an intraday low of Rs 2,30,493, declining 2.12 per cent during the session so far. It recorded an intraday high of Rs 2,35,402, down 0.04 per cent or Rs 103 from the previous close.
Earlier in the day, gold and silver opened at Rs 1,46,518 and Rs 2,31,671, respectively, on the MCX.
In international markets, precious metals also remained under pressure. COMEX silver was trading at $63.90, down over 1.29 per cent, while COMEX gold was trading 0.68 per cent lower at $4,105.30 per ounce.
According to commodity analysts, precious metals remained under pressure as investors assessed the latest developments in the West Asia conflict. Gold stabilised near multi-month lows after the US military confirmed the completion of its latest strikes on Iran, raising expectations that diplomatic negotiations could resume.
They said easing safe-haven demand, coupled with expectations that US interest rates could remain higher for longer, weighed on bullion prices. Higher interest rates reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets such as gold and silver.
Market participants also continued to monitor inflationary pressures stemming from rising energy prices and their potential impact on the US Federal Reserve’s policy path.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices surged sharply, with Brent crude rising over 2 per cent to trade near $95 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 4 per cent to $93.64 per barrel.
Business
Indian markets trade higher despite West Asia tensions

Mumbai, June 10: Domestic equity markets traded higher on Wednesday in the morning session despite elevated geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices.
Sensex gained as much as 0.59 per cent or over 400 points to touch an intraday high of 74,356 in early trade, while the Nifty rose 0.46 per cent or about 100 points to 23,351.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, with FMCG stocks leading the gains. Nifty FMCG rose 1.5 per cent, followed by Nifty Chemicals (0.67 per cent), Nifty Oil & Gas (0.60 per cent) and Nifty Private Bank (0.50 per cent).
On the downside, metal stocks remained under pressure, with Nifty Metal declining more than 1 per cent. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom fell 0.62 per cent, while Auto, Media and PSU Bank indices traded marginally lower.
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Hindalco Industries emerged as the top loser, shedding nearly 3 per cent. Eternal, Adani Enterprises, NTPC and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) were among the other major laggards.
“While weak global cues and geopolitical tensions could keep markets volatile in the near term, technical indicators suggest signs of stabilisation after recent selling pressure. Nifty has strong support around 23,000-23,100, while 23,500-23,600 remains the immediate resistance zone. A decisive breakout on either side is likely to determine the market’s next directional move,” analysts said.
Investors and traders’ sentiment remained cautious amid escalating tensions in West Asia after the United States launched strikes on Iran, raising concerns about a broader regional conflict and its potential impact on global energy supplies.
On the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude rose 0.75 per cent to around $93 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.88 per cent to nearly $90 per barrel.
In Asia, markets traded largely in the red. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined more than 1 per cent each, while South Korea’s KOSPI plunged nearly 4 per cent.
Overnight, Wall Street ended lower, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.26 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.97 per cent.
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