Insurance merger on hold, govt may pick one for sale

Budget 2018-19 had proposed merging National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and United India

- Subhash Narayan & Rhik Kundu

NEW DELHI: The Centre may drop its plan to merge three general insurers and instead pick one of them for privatisation this fiscal year, two people aware of the development said.

The other two may be provided additional capital to strengthen their balance sheets, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. To begin with, the government will assess the financial performance of all three insurers in the coming quarters.

"The aim is to strengthen the general insurers' balance sheets through recapitalisation before any potential merger is considered," the person added.

While National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental India Insurance are considered weak, market leader New India Assurance is seen as strong and not a candidate for privatisation.