Transformation Realized: How a leading non-life insurance company successfully leveraged synergies through a seamless post-merger integration

The acquisition brought together the best of two companies and propelled the insurer to the second position in the overall insurance industry.

Businesses can stand the test of time only by adapting to change. Leaders are leveraging the emerging trends, go-to-market channels, and the power of technology to achieve scale and long-term growth. ICICI Lombard General Insurance, India's largest private sector non-life insurance company, acquired Bharti AXA General in a strategic move that helped it leapfrog to the second position by market share in the overall insurance industry, life and non-life combined. 

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the value of insurance into sharp focus, presenting an opportunity for insurers to tap into the increased awareness of insurance among Indians. 

The pandemic, however, also meant that the entire acquisition, from proposition to the end of the deal, had to be done virtually, which contributed to higher trust between the two sides. In India, the high volume of transactions made the deal between the two insurers among the biggest in the industry here. The challenge, however, was to bring together the two companies’ complementary synergies and scale. 

To make the integration a success, the three key aspects in focus were: execution at speed, especially in an uncertain environment; minimum disruption to core business; and bringing together people from both sides. Hence, the right delivery architecture was crucial.

Joining the dots

EY India ensured the transition of 16,000-plus distributors without disrupting business. This included onboarding of about 3,400 employees and transitioning and rebranding 160-plus branches of the business. In addition, more than 30 million communications were sent to customers and partners regarding the merger. It also helped merge the two different product portfolios and data and technology systems.

Apart from scale, speed and transparency were the highlights of the acquisition, even as strict regulatory requirements were adhered to at every stage. The entire process was completed in 12 months, with the entire transition conducted virtually through frequent lockdowns.

“At the same time, we did not want to lose momentum on the core business in either organization. So, we had to ensure that it was business as usual while the integration took place at the pace we had set,” says Dasgupta. 

More importantly, it was critical to ensure that employees were confident in joining the new setup.

Building sustainable advantages

The merger yielded several benefits, which included a bigger market standing achieved sooner; and gaining significant value by building on synergies, which was earlier estimated to be about INR 200 crore. While gains were anticipated in areas such as productivity, technology stack, and branches, some unexpected benefits emerged in claims management. 

The benefits were, however, possible because the leadership had set out clear aims at the beginning itself — smooth and time bound, fully transparent, and beneficial to all.