Chennai, Feb 4 (Inditop.com) City-based private non-life insurer Cholamandalam MS General Insurance (Chola MS) is hoping to close this fiscal with a premium income of Rs.800 crore as against Rs.685 crore earned in 2008-09, said a top company official.

“We will close this financial year with a premium income of Rs.800 crore. However, there will not be any underwriting profits (premium income minus claims paid),” company managing director S.S. Gopalarathnam told reporters here Thursday.

“No player in the industry will post underwriting profits this year,” Gopalarathnam said at the launch of an online motor insurance initiative, Click Easy Car Insurance.

Till December 2009, Chola MS has earned a premium of Rs.597.83 crore.

Speaking about the company’s new online initiative, Gopalarathnam said car owners can take a new comprehensive policy or renew existing ones online by visiting the Chola MS website.

With this initiative, the company expects to increase its renewal ratio of car policies by 5-10 percent from the current 60 percent, and plans to sell nearly 20 percent of its car policies online.

Maintaining that more retail products would be sold online from April, Gopalarathnam said the company was also working on enabling purchase of polices using mobile phones.