gross premium at 9.71 per cent is within striking distance of Oriental's 10.

09
per cent. Another state-owned giant United India, at 13.75 per cent, is also
within reach of ICICI Bank's general insurance subsidiary. So, while all the
four top spots, in terms of market share, are still occupied by the public sector
companies, they are finding it tough to keep the private companies at bay.

But if LIC has managed to hold on to its market share, why are the state-
owned general insurance companies losing ground? "The transactional nature
(selling one-year policies) with high service intensity makes this industry more
competitive," reasons Sanjay Kedia, Country Head and CEO of Marsh India
Insurance Brokers, a leading insurance broker and risk advisor. G. Srinivasan,
CMD of New India Assurance Company, explains that LIC has managed to
hold on to its market share because of the long-term nature of its products.
"Any individual will prefer to go to a government undertaking for his long-
term savings. Ours is an annual business where customers don't mind dealing
with the private sector," explains Srinivasan. The other public sector general
insurance companies refused to comment.

"Whenever a new entrant comes to the market, they also capture market
share. We saw a similar trend in banking when new generation private banks
were allowed in," says Tapan Singhel, Managing Director and CEO of Bajaj
Allianz General Insurance, the secondlargest private player. But flexibility of
operations and the right business model, with an initial focus on corporate