MUMBAI: Public sector general insurerNew India Assurancetoday said the energyinsurancepool proposed by government to provide cover to domestic firms for processing Iranian crude oil may not be sufficient to cover the risks.
Earlier, the government had proposed to create an energy insurance pool (EIP) of Rs 2,000 crore to back domestic insurers who can insure domestic refineries processing Iranian crude oil in the wake of global reinsurers' unwillingness to provide cover after the US and the EU slapped sanctions onTehranfor its alleged nuclear weapons programme.
"The EIP has been in the press for sometime ... It has not progressed further as the requirement is much higher for oil companies, which are asking for larger cover. So, the matter is under discussion," New India Assurance CMD GSrinivasantold reporters here.
As per reports, out of the Rs 2,000-crore pool, half will come from four public sector general insurers along withGeneral Insurance Corporation(GIC Re) andthe restwill be contributed by oil companies.
New India, which reported a more than fourfold rise in net profit to Rs 843.66 crore for the last financial year, also said it had recently received approval for launching new health products.
"We have received approval few days back for health insurance products," Srinivasan said and hinted that the premium may rise by an average of 20 per cent in these products.
He also said the in-house third-partyadministrator(TPA) for public general insurers would be operational from next January.
The common TPA will help checking leakages in the health insurance segment and will be used by four public sector general insurers along withLICand GIC Re.