The Hindu : Royal Sundaram's initiatives to beef up service quality

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 20, 2003

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Business

Royal Sundaram's initiatives to beef up service quality

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI JUNE 19. Even as private players vie for a big pie of the seemingly infinite insurance business in India, the Chennai-headquartered Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company has embarked on a string of new initiatives to beef up the service quality and befriend customers.

Upgradation of certain representative centres into satellite branches, introduction of 7-day service in select places and provision of credit card option for payment of premium are among the slew of steps Royal Sundaram has kick-started to get closer to its clients.

According to Antony Jacob, Deputy Managing Director, the company had elevated the representative offices in Salem, Pondicherry and Tiruchi to the level of satellite branches. Further, it had decided to offer 7-day service at its branch in Nungambakkam in Chennai.

If the pilot project proved successful, the company would introduce 7-day service in more branches, he added. Mr. Jacob said select branches of Royal Sundaram — Mumbai, Gurgoan, Kolkatta, Bangalore and Chennai Main — would accept payment of premium through credit cards.

This, he claimed, was the first time that an insurance firm had decided to accept credit card mode of premium payment at its branches.

Fielding a range of questions in an interaction with The Hindu, Mr. Jacob said Royal Sundaram had consciously kept away from the equity market and asserted that it would never get into shares in the foreseeable future.

Quizzed on the dipping interest rates, he claimed that Royal Sundaram had, indeed, factored this possibility in its business plan. He presaged that the investment yield would fluctuate in the 5-7 per cent range.

Stating that Royal Sundaram would write premium worth Rs. 300 crores this year, Mr. Jacob asserted that his company would post a `reasonable PBT (profit before tax)'.

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