PSU non-life insurer The Oriental to sell staff quarters

Chennai : Public sector non-life insurer, The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd plans to sell off some of its fixed assets, said a top company official. He also said the company has met almost all the targets set by the owner -- the Government of India -- and will soon launch a new portal with all the features.

“We have a lot of fixed assets, mostly residential apartments in major cities. We have got the central government’s permission to sell the fixed assets. The company is getting the valuation of the fixed assets done,” R.R.Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, told IANS.

He said maintenance of the residential quarters has been affected as many are vacant owing to reduction in staff. The insurer had saved a sizable sum as rental outgo from closure/merger of about 200 offices across the country, and will be earning rental income by renting out its property to General Insurance Public Sector Association (GIPSA) a representative body for four public sector general insurers.

“GIPSA was functioning out of the property owned by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Now it will shift its office to our property. LIC has been given necessary notice,” Singh added.

In a remarkable turnaround, The Oriental has cut down its net loss to Rs.42.17 crore during the first half of the current fiscal from Rs.3,586.93 crore logged during the previous year corresponding period. A combination of factors -- prudent underwriting of risks, cutting down expenses and others- has resulted in the company cutting down the net loss to Rs.42.17 crore, he said.

He said if the company continues to perform well, it will close the year with a small profit and there could be wage revision for the employees. Singh said the company has achieved most of the targets fixed by the Central government- reduction in incurred claims ratio (ICR), business growth and others.

“By looking at the first half performance, the company has fulfilled 80-90 per cent of the targets laid down by the Central government,” Singh said. According to the company, it has not provided any sum towards wage revision as it depends on the employees achieving the Key Performance Indicator (KPI).

“We have fixed the KPI where the outcome could be quantified. In the case where KPIs have not been quantified, we are working on that,” Singh said, adding that by December this year, the company will have a new online portal which will have all the features.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)