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Bangalore , Sept 23

METLIFE India's joint venture partners have agreed to support the increasing capital requirements for meeting the solvency and infrastructure requirements.

MetLife India is promoted by Metropolitan Life Insurance of the US, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, and M. Pallonji and Company Private Ltd. The US parent is a 26 per cent stakeholder in the tripartite joint venture. The second round of capital infusion of Rs 50 crore has already been completed.

Mr Venkatesh S. Mysore, Managing Director of MetLife India, said that this round of capital infusion by all the three partners would take the paid-up equity to Rs 160 crore.

However, Mr Mysore said, "We will require more capital to meet the expanding business." This year till July, MetLife India had collected new premiums of Rs 4.10 crore, as against Rs 6.2 crore for the whole of last year, its first year of operations in the country. Last year, almost the entire business was driven by retail, as in the case of all private sector insurers.

The business expansion was partly driven by its bancassurance arrangements it has with the J&K Bank, Karnataka Bank and the Dhanalakshmi Bank. Almost 50 per cent of the premium accretions have been contributed by its bancassurance arrangements. This year also, Mr Mysore admitted that bancassurance arrangements would continue to drive its business. "We are tying up with more banks," he said. The business expansion is also being driven by arrangements with the banks, whereby both loan accounts as well as depositors are provided coverage by the banks.

MetLife, he said, was also awaiting the approval of the regulator for launching group and pension plans.

In the U S Metlife is the largest group insurer, having provided cover to about 88 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies. Metlife is also among the largest institutional investors in these companies. The private insurer hopes to leverage on these relationships with the affiliates of the companies here, which include Ford Motors and General Motors.

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