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T Asuransi Astra Buana, a major general insurance company, has started to pay more attention to low-cost green car (LCGC) owners following the launch in September last year of '€œfirst-tier'€ cars, which are priced below Rp 100 million (US$8,340).

The insurer, which is part of publicly-listed diversified company Astra International, previously relied on second-tier cars (priced between Rp 125 million and Rp 200 million) and third tier cars (priced between Rp 200 million and Rp 400 million).

'€œThe second-tier segment has not grown as robust as before because some first-time car owners are choosing to purchase LCGCs,'€ said Asuransi Astra CEO Santosa on Thursday.

The launch of LCGCs has changed the insurer'€™s car segmentation, consisting of first-tier cars through fifth-tier cars. The fifth-tier cars are those priced over Rp 800 million.

Meanwhile, fourth-tier cars are priced between Rp 400 million and Rp 800 million.

Santosa said Asuransi Astra had previously relied on the second- and third-tier segments as the growth driver of its automotive segment. '€œBut now we have to pay more attention to LCGCs,'€ he added.

Available data shows that 70,000 LCGCs were sold following the launch in September.

Meanwhile, Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) data reveals that the total number of cars sold stood at 531,805 as of May.

Asuransi Astra'€™s own data shows that automotive remains the most dominant segment in its general insurance business, accounting for 60 percent of all premiums.

Commercial and health contribute the rest with 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

In the first quarter, the company booked Rp 1 trillion in gross premiums, about 24 percent of its 2014 target of Rp 4.15 trillion; a 10 percent increase from last year.

Santosa said that it would intensify business in the commercial segment to help achieve the target. In 2013, Asuransi Astra'€™s commercial segment was largely made up of commodity sector clients, including palm oil and coal.

However, with the current downturn in the coal business, the company is looking to expand its focus to cover '€œhigh-profit'€ sectors, such as consumer goods and cargo.

Meanwhile, in health, Asuransi Astra prefers to stick to its policy of providing insurance as an employee benefit to large corporations, according to Santosa.

'€œThese companies and their employees are already insurance literate,'€ he said, adding that all the strategies would hopefully maintain its 9 percent market share in terms of premiums.

By the end of March, Asuransi Astra reportedly had Rp 8.55 trillion in total assets. Its liabilities reached Rp 6.14 trillion and its equities amounted to Rp 2.41 trillion.