A couple of years ago, the Union government proposed the merger of the three public sector General Insurance Companies into a single listed enterprise.
The New India Assurance Company Ltd., the largest of the general insurance company became a listed company but the merger of the other three has been pending.
Public sector general insurance companies have not been earning profits on their premium incomes. Especially losses on motor Insurance have been bleeding these. Recently the government has announced Rs 2500 crore towards capitalisation of these three companies to help them meet solvency norms.
The south-based United India Insurance (UII) the largest of the three is having good infrastructure in Chennai. Thus it has a credential to bid for locating the new entity in Chennai. The state leadership should stake the claim towards this.