The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. was incorporated at Mumbai on 12 September 1947. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Company Ltd and was formed to carry out general insurance business.

The company was a subsidiary of the Life Insurance Corporation of India from 1956 to 1973 (until the General Insurance Business was nationalized in the country). In 2003 all shares of the company held by the General Insurance Corporation of India were transferred to the central government. Oriental Insurance made a modest beginning with a first year premium of 99,946 in 1950. The goal of the company was “service to clients” and achievement thereof was helped by the strong traditions built up over time.

Oriental Insurance's head office is at New Delhi. It has 29 regional offices and nearly 1500+ operating offices in various cities of the country. The company has overseas operations in Nepal, Kuwait^[5] and Dubai and has a total strength of around 10,000 employees. From less than a lakh at its inception, the gross premium figure stood at ₹12,747 crores in FY 2020–21.