Howden of UK to foray into realty insurance broking biz
Free pricing in non-life insurance is expected to open opportunities for insurance brokers. Anticipating rising demand for broking services post-detariffication, UK-based specialist brokerage house Howden is getting into broking for property insur...
By TNN |
MUMBAI: Free pricing in non-life insurance is expected to open opportunities for insurance brokers. Anticipating rising demand for broking services post-detariffication, UK-based specialist brokerage house Howden is getting into broking for property insurance.
Speaking to ET, David Howden, CEO of the Hyperion group, which owns Howden, said,”As India grows and builds infrastructure, the scope for property insurance will grow immensely.”
Although the initial 15 months of detariffing will see insurers competing on price, in keeping with a directive from the regulator, brokers would be in a position to provide a lot of value addition thereafter.
“When we first came here in ‘94, we only talked about liability insurance to companies. There was no much of a market here, but since then the market has grown significantly as companies realised its importance,” said Mr Howden.
There is already a change in mindset among private companies who are now not looking at only the lowest price, he said. “Today, 50% of our customers are willing to pay better price to make sure they get their claim,” he added.
While getting into the property business, Mr Howden has recast its operations in India along vertical business lines. The three business lines are liability, property and employee benefits. The brokerage firm has taken on board Arun Chaubal who was formerly with the Tariff Advisory Committee and KC Sankar Mohan.
According to Praveen Vashishta, managing director, Howden India, the company has decided to get into the property business by pitching for placements of very large property risks, including the large government-owned energy companies.
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