RIYADH, 27 January — The New India Assurance Company Ltd., the largest general insurance firm in India, has launched two new insurance schemes called "Private Motor Insurance Policy" and "Motor Ruksa Policy" tailored to meet the needs of Indians working in the Kingdom.
New India has also introduced a new insurance scheme for small shop owners called "Shopkeeper’s Umbrella Policy", said S. Vaidyanathan, resident manager of the New India Assurance Co.
He said the Private Motor Insurance Policy offers comprehensive coverage including personal accident cover for passengers, accidental damage to vehicles and unlimited liability toward third parties. He explained that under the Motor Ruksa Policy, the insured person, who has a valid driving license, could drive any private vehicle under coverage toward his liability to third parties in the event of an accident.
New India, he said, offers protection to one’s shop from fire, theft and other natural perils for a value of SR100,000 at a premium of SR365. The Shopkeeper’s Umbrella Policy, Vaidyanathan said, also covers risks of shop owners against theft of cash in the shop or on way to banks.
It also offers compensation insurance for the shop’s workers for a period of 12 months, said the manager, adding that his company has been offering its services from Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar.
Vaidyanathan said New India has opened more than 1,000 offices in India and 33 offices abroad in past 80 years. The company today is the largest non-life insurer in Afro-Asia excluding Japan.
Referring to the other insurance schemes offered by New India, Vaidyanathan said a greater section of non-resident Keralites, who form a vast majority of Indians working abroad, have been responding well to the Pravasi Suraksha and Kudumba Arogya Policies, which have been launched and formulated jointly by the New India Assurance and the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA). These policies were open only to non-resident Keralites earlier, but their scope has since been widened to cover all non-resident Indians, he said.
New India’s offices in Saudi Arabia issue these policies directly, but the claim settlements are done in India in rupees, he noted.
Vaidyanathan said the company has gone online and the customers can visit its site www.newindia.com.sa.
With over 25,000 employees globally, New India has the largest number of technically qualified personnel empowered to underwrite and settle claims even of high magnitudes.
Vaidyanathan said the company has opened seven branches in Japan, one each in the UK, Australia, Fiji, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. It has its agents in several Gulf cities including Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi besides having its associates and subsidiaries in a number of African and Far Eastern countries.
He said New India underwrites all classes for insurance like property, marine, liability, health and engineering. It has been operating in the Kingdom for the last 20 years with a local insurance broker, United International Co., which represented the Indian company as general agent for the past 11 years.
