Chola MS General Insurance looks for a new core insurance solution

Chennai: The Chennai-based private non-life insurer Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, part of the $2 billion Murugappa group, has decided to go in for a new core insurance solution.

The company has short listed three vendors. A 15-member multi disciplinary team is evaluating the proposals including their pricing, After an in-depth evaluation, they will decide on the preferred vendor.

Declining to reveal the names of three short listed software companies, SS Gopalarathnam, president (Operations), says the company has budgeted around Rs11 crore for core insurance solutions as well as the hardware. "We will take care of the hardware needs ourselves."

It has become imperative for Indian no-life insurers to revamp their information technology (IT) solutions to cope with the changes arising from the four major lines of business - fire, engineering, motor and workmen compensation insurance - recently being freed from the administrative pricing mechanism. In addition from next April onwards the companies, will be free to custom design their products. There is a view that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) might advance this to 1 January, 2008.

The non-life insurers have to launch several products. The current IT systems used by most of the insurers are inadequate, and inflexible to meet the future needs.

Says Gopalarathnam, "We plan to launch 20-25 products in fire, engineering, motor and workmen compensation business lines."