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Insurance staff make a beeline for GIC

Freny Patel & Janaki Krishnan

The employees of the four state-owned insurance companies --- The New India Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and United Insurance Company ---- are making a beeline to join the designated national reinsurer, General Insurance Corporation of India.

The attraction follows GIC's talks of expanding its operations overseas in terms of setting up branches through franchises. Further, GIC offers a better promotional policy compared with the prevailing slow promotions at the four subsidiary companies.

GIC issued a circular a fortnight back offering a one-time opportunity to its own employees who were on deputation at the four erstwhile GIC subsidiaries should they wish to return to the parent company. At the same time, it also offered a one-time opportunity to employees presently working at GIC but belonging to the four subsidiaries should they also wish to return to their respective parent concern.

This circular was misinterpreted by the head offices of the four erstwhile subsidiaries. It was taken to mean an open-door recruitment drive to join GIC. A host of employees at the four companies have showed keen interest to join GIC, attracted by the overseas employment opportunities, and faster promotions.

GIC is eyeing offshore markets in Afro-Asian countries, the Middle East and the erstwhile Soviet Block, including Russia, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The reinsurer's chairman D Sengupta is more hopeful of increasing premium income from outside the country than from within.

A senior official at one of the state owned insurance companies said: "There is a seven years difference in the promotion policy." The 1997 batch at GIC will see promotions from the cadre of administrative officers to assistant managers this year. This is as against the 1991 batches which will be promoted in the current year at United Insurance Company and National Insurance Company, he explained.

The sudden interest in employment opportunity at GIC is in vast contrast to what prevailed earlier. GIC with no regional or divisional offices, was never seen to be offering good posting except at the higher management level. There are about 15 GIC employees currently working at different levels at the erstwhile subsidiaries. At GIC, the managing director P C Ghosh, R K Joshi, general manager and P K Mor, assistant general manager, are from National Insurance Company.

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