Italian insurance major Generali Group has completed acquisition of an additional 23.5% stake in its Future Generali insurance joint ventures (JVs) in India with Future Group.
Image: Generali head office in Trieste, Italy. Photo: courtesy of Massimo Goina/ Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.
Generali now holds stakes of 49% each in Future Generali India Life Insurance and the non-life insurance JV – Future Generali India Insurance.
The insurance giant said that through the transaction, it has committed up to nearly €120m to the partnership. Its investment in the two insurance joint ventures is expected to help accelerate the leverage of the distribution network of Future Group, which is an Indian conglomerate.
Generali International CEO Jaime Anchustegui Melgarejo said: “The new Generali strategy is focusing on high potential insurance markets: India will play a significant role in our expansion plan in Asia.
“The strengthening of our partnership with Future Group is a clear signal of the commitment of Generali Group to further invest in the development of partner customer systems with the ambition to expand customer reach.”
The partners entered into the transaction in June 2018. At that time, the Italian firm said that its partnership with Future Group has been generating gross written premiums of €375m that have been steadily growing year after year.
Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani said: “We are excited with the prospect of a larger partnership with Generali as it brings along increased commitment to India and empowers our strategy to redefine insurance.
“We are committed to making our insurance businesses more customer-focused and together with Generali’s global expertise, we believe that we can create unique & differentiated platforms in India.”
The Italian firm’s current operations in India are in the form of the two insurance joint ventures with Future Group along with FG&G Distribution, a newly established distribution joint venture.
In October 2018, the Italian insurance firm launched a new Cyber Insurance function and a new cyber insurance subsidiary called GeneraliCyberSecurTech to address the concerns and requirements of its customers regarding cyber risk. The Cyber Insurance function will be a combination of a range of cyber insurance solutions.