Thanks to the growing competition, the four public sector insurers, which account for over one-third of the market, are working hard to retain customers and win new ones by halving premiums for customers with a good claim record.  

The dozen private non-life insurers have, however, cut premiums only 10 to 15 per cent for individuals and housing societies.  

"The discount on a householder's insurance policy is more than 35 per cent," said V Ramasaamy, chairman and managing director of National Insurance, India's second largest general insurance company.

An official of Delhi-headquartered Oriental Insurance added that in addition to an annual policy, it is offering a four-year householder's policy.

Oriental Insurance's new policies are a case in point. The insurer is offering a 25 per cent discount on the basic policy plus an in-built discount of around 7.5 per cent, if you buy the policy for more than two years.

There is also a loyalty discount of 5 per cent in the first year, 10 per cent in the second year and 15 per cent from the third year on, provided there are no claims. Oriental offers a further discount of 10 to 15 per cent if you choose more than four sections.

Private sector companies like Bajaj Allianz and ICICI [Get Quote] Lombard claim that reducing the premiums by more than 10 or 15 per cent is difficult.

Said T A Ramalingam, head of underwriting, Bajaj Allianz Non-Life: "Householder's policy is profitable for the public sector so it can be aggressive on pricing. We cannot do so because our risk perception of this business is different."