India had 34 general insurance companies till now-- there will be one less after HDFC’s ₹13.3 billion deal to buy Apollo Munich

• HDFC acquired a 51% stake in health insurer Apollo Munich for Rs 13.36 billion.
• It will merge with general insurance company HDFC Ergo.
• The combined entity will have a market share of 8.2% in health and accident segments.
• It will merge with general insurance company HDFC Ergo.
• The combined entity will have a market share of 8.2% in health and accident segments.

HDFC has acquired a 51% stake in health insurer Apollo Munich for ₹13.36 billion. The mortgage lender will merge it with its own general insurance company HDFC Ergo, making this combined entity the second largest private insurer in the accident and health segment.

This merger comes after the government has been trying to formalise the plan to merge three of its general insurers---New India Assurance, United India Insurance, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance Company to unleash economies of scale.

Now, private players have seem to have taken a cue to become bigger and stronger.

The combined entity of HDFC Ergo and Apollo Munich will have a market share of 8.2% in health and accident segments. In the non-life insurance segments, it will have a market share of 6.4%.

“The combined expertise of HDFC ERGO and Apollo Munich will result in greater product innovation, wider distribution and enhanced servicing capabilities, benefiting their 1.2 crore policy holders,” said Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Ltd and HDFC ERGO General Insurance.

This acquisition is subject to approval from various regulators including National Housing Bank (NHB), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Competition Commission of India (CCI). Munich Health Germany which is a partner of Apollo will also pay ₹2.94 billion (₹294 crore) to Apollo Hospitals Enterprise and Apollo Energy to support the transaction.

“The funds from the divestment will enable us to focus on investing and growing our core healthcare business,” said Shobana Kamineni, Chairperson Apollo Munich Health Insurance and Vice Chairperson Apollo Hospitals Enterprise.

This merger would make one player less in India’s crowded general insurance where there were 34 players, before this deal. However, the number of people who have any kind of insurance in the country are less than 3.69% of the population, according to the latest annual report from the regulator, Insurance Development Authority of India (IRDAI).