ICICI Lombard General Insurance company named general insurance company of the year

Mumbai: ICICI Lombard, India''s leading private sector general insurer has been awarded the prestigious ''general insurance company of the year'' at the 11th Asia insurance industry awards 2007 ceremony held at Singapore.

Acknowledging the award, Kartik Jain, head, marketing, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, said, "ICICI Lombard is delighted to be the first Indian insurer to win in the Asia Insurance Awards. This recognition makes us even more aware of our responsibility towards the quality growth and development of the Indian general insurance industry."

Among other factors, ICICI Lombard''s innovations like the introduction of biometric smart cards to rural customers for availing health insurance, pioneering weather insurance along with World Bank for farmers and introducing online insurance for customers, distinguished it from its peers for the award.

With more than 700 nominations received across 15 award categories from various regions, the submissions of the short-listed candidates were thoroughly scrutinized by the eminent judges.

The entries were audited by KPMG, and a panel of 20 judges from among regulators, industry leaders, practitioners and association heads.

ICICI Lombard, a 74:26 joint venture between ICICI Bank Limited, and Canada''s Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, is the largest private sector general insurance company in India with gross written premiums of $730 million for the financial year ended 31March 2007.