V Jagannathan resigns from the Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Board of Directors

12 Jun 2023 , 10:54 AM

Venkatasamy Jagannathan, the founder of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd., one of the leading private health insurers, has tendered his resignation from the board with immediate effect, news reports said on Sunday. The 78-year-old Jagannathan, an industry veteran, gave up his position as Chairman of the company in May.

In a BSE statement on Saturday, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd stated: ‘…we wish to inform you that Venkatasamy Jagannathan has tendered his resignation from the Board of the Company via e-mail dated June 10, 2023, with immediate effect from June 10, 2023.’

After retiring from his position as Chairman and Managing Director of United India Insurance, Jagannathan created Star Health and Allied Insurance with the support of the Dubai-based ETA Group.

When asked to clarify his departure in an interview with PTI, Jagannathan responded: ‘I was with Star Health and Allied Insurance and I became its Executive Chairman. I then relinquished my executive duties to my underlings and became the non-executive Chairman.

Now, he added, ‘I have also resigned from the position of non-executive Chairman.’

Every beginning and every end, I’ve always believed, have a beginning. God willing, I am eager to begin something in the next two months, perhaps in any industry, but it will be something near to my heart…,’ he remarked, declining to go into greater detail.

When asked about his experience with Star Health, he responded, ‘We began with just 12 individuals and rented space for Rs 30,000. According to him, Star Health is now worth more than Rs 30,000 crore.

‘Last year, the trip I began as an insurance agent 53 years ago, I gave record profits. In FY 2022–23, I (Star Health) had the biggest profit, he noted.

For the fourth quarter that ended on March 31, 2023, Star Health and Allied Insurance reported a net profit of Rs. 102 crore. In the quarter from January to March of the previous fiscal year, the standalone health insurance recorded a loss of Rs 82 crore. Profit after tax for the entire fiscal year 2022–23 was Rs 619 crore compared to a loss of Rs 1,041 crore.

‘I appreciated the ETA Group’s (located in Dubai) complete confidence. They made an investment… The corporation had to work hard throughout the Covid years. I didn’t want to resign while the pandemic was at its worst. The fiscal year that concluded in March 2023 was the most profitable for Star, he claimed.

The company’s annual report for the fiscal year 2021–2022 indicates that Star Health has locations in 26 states and four union territories. 807 branches spread across all of India support the company’s distribution network. As of March 31, 2022, South India provided over 39% of the company’s revenues, Western India contributed 23%, North India contributed 30%, and East India contributed 8%.

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