The Hindu Business Line : LIC upbeat on equity exposure, ULIP schemes

The coming days will also see the country's top insurer focus on resolving outstanding issues concerning its development officers, consolidate its allocation to the capital markets and make subtle organisational changes whose benefits will flow in over a period of time.

Speaking at an insurance summit on Friday, Mr R.N. Bharadwaj, Chairman, said that LIC has proposed to come up with at least two new schemes, one of which will be a pension plan that will try to leverage on the growing popularity of unitised options.

The company, confident of the prospects of the equity markets, will also concentrate on taking fresh exposure after exercising due care.

Equities, it is pointed out, are expected to do well in the days ahead, given the fundamentals of the economy, overall corporate performance and the liquidity that is being pumped in by overseas investors.

LIC is also seeking to resolve some of the misgivings expressed by its development officers without compromising its stance, he added.

Earlier in the day, he referred to the popularity of unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) in other nations such as the US, the UK and Canada.

The Indian insurance market has seen the growth of unitised products, thanks largely to the aggressive marketing stance adopted by private sector insurance companies. LIC has also come out with similar schemes in recent times.

On the latest trends affecting health insurance, the LIC chief pointed towards what he said was "a fragmented medical infrastructure". An overwhelming part of the country's population is not covered by health insurance, he added.

Need for more NGOs

LIC is concerned that there are not enough NGOs working for spreading the message of insurance. The presence of only a handful of NGOs in this area is not quite a positive signal, it is felt.

"There are multiple NGOs covering a lot of economic and social activities. Insurance, however, is not one of their priorities. In fact, only a few are concerned with insurance," said Mr Bharadwaj.

The Government, it is pointed out, has been trying hard to cover the marginalised sections of society.

More than 40 occupational groups have been identified on this front. A lot more has to be done to implement some of the programmes that have been conceived by the planners.

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