Bajaj General Insurance Names Deepak Reddy CEO, to Succeed Tapan Singhel
Bajaj General Insurance has appointed Deepak Reddy to take over as CEO from Tapan Singhel, bringing a leadership transition at one of India’s major general insurance companies.
Bajaj General Insurance has named Deepak Reddy as its new CEO, succeeding Tapan Singhel. The leadership change marks a new chapter for the general insurer.
NEW DELHI: Bajaj General Insurance has appointed Deepak Reddy as its CEO Designate, effective January 1, 2027, setting out a leadership handover for 2027. Subject to IRDAI approval, Reddy will take charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on April 1, 2027. He will succeed Tapan Singhel, who continues in the role until March 31, 2027.
The company’s board approved the appointment, and its parent, Bajaj Finserv Limited, informed the stock exchanges on October 23, 2026.
Bajaj General Insurance: How the transition will work
Reddy’s role as CEO Designate begins on January 1, 2027, which gives him roughly three months alongside Singhel before he formally takes over. The company said Singhel will remain MD and CEO through March 31, 2027, to keep the changeover orderly. The company described the arrangement as a structured succession plan meant to maintain continuity of strategy as the insurer pursues its long-term growth priorities.
The handover follows an IRDAI rule that bars any person from holding the post of MD, CEO or whole-time director at an insurer for more than 15 continuous years. The regulator introduced the cap in its 2023 remuneration guidelines for key managerial persons of insurers. The same guidelines set an upper age limit of 70 years for such posts. Singhel took over as MD and CEO in April 2012, so he completes 15 years in the role in March 2027.
The rule has already led to a leadership change elsewhere in the sector. ICICI Lombard General Insurance appointed Sanjeev Mantri as MD and CEO in late 2023 after Bhargav Dasgupta’s resignation, which was attributed to the same limit.
Bajaj General Insurance: Who is Deepak Reddy
Reddy has more than three decades of experience in financial services. He spent 17 years with Bajaj Finserv, where he helped build and scale several businesses. In his latest role within the group, he led the Rural, Insurance and Gold Loan businesses at Bajaj Finance. He was also Bajaj Finserv’s first Group Head of Human Resources.
Before joining the Bajaj Group, he worked at American Express Bank for about nine years, Standard Chartered Bank for about a year and a half, and MIRC Electronics (the maker of Onida televisions) for about four and a half years. He holds a B.Com degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management.
Reddy most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Manappuram Finance. The gold-loan lender announced his appointment in May 2025, and he began that role on August 1, 2025. Manappuram’s businesses span gold loans, vehicle finance, microfinance, MSME loans, housing finance and digital lending.
Bajaj General Insurance: Reactions from the Bajaj Group and the outgoing CEO
Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv, thanked Singhel for his role in building the company from its early years as a joint venture into a wholly Bajaj-owned insurer. He said the company has earned a reputation for underwriting discipline, innovation and commitment to customers. Bajaj also said he was confident Reddy would build on the foundation laid by Singhel and his team and open up new opportunities as India’s insurance sector enters its next phase of growth.
Singhel said the company set out to change how insurance is understood, delivered and experienced, with a focus on understanding customers’ worries rather than only selling policies. He said this had meant challenging conventional thinking, rethinking distribution and pioneering industry-first initiatives. He added that he expects the new team to keep pushing boundaries and to stay true to the company’s purpose of helping citizens live a life of dignity.
Singhel has been with the company since it was founded in 2001 and has led it as MD and CEO since 2012. Before that, he held roles including regional manager, zonal head and Chief Marketing Officer.
