The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj Allianz Life lines up slew of new products

Growth plans
As part of its growth strategy, Bajaj Allianz Life will expand its agency force from 1.60 lakh to 2 lakh by the end of the fiscal.
The branch network will also be increased from 900 to 1400 next year.

Mumbai , Nov. 20

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance will launch a slew of new products in the next few months. The company may also be the first life insurer to introduce a cashless payment system for its health insurance products.

"In the next few months we plan to introduce a regular premium product as well as a single premium unit-linked insurance product. We will also launch around three critical illness products," said Mr Sam Ghosh, CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life.

The company has created a health department and is working on tie-ups with two or three hospitals in all major cities and towns where Bajaj Allianz Life has a presence.

Mr Ghosh said the company would focus on broadbased health-oriented insurance products that offer lumpsum cash for a host of critical illnesses for a five-year term.

He said that apart from their tie-up with non-life counterpart Bajaj Allianz General's Third Party Administrator, the company would also ally with region-specific TPAs to offer its cashless payment facility.

The company on Monday launched "Samraksha" which is a single premium term assurance plan targeted at the rural market. The plan is for a term of either 5 or 10 years and for a life cover of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. The premium for this policy begins at Rs 75.

During the first half of the fiscal, Bajaj Allianz Life registered a growth of 103 per cent in its new business premium to Rs 1,306.8 crore (Rs 643.59 crore). Mr Ghosh said that Bajaj Allianz Life would hike its capital base by up to Rs 100 crore before the end of the calendar year. Its current capital base is Rs 500 crore.

Bajaj Allianz Life has reduced the component of single premium policies in its portfolio to 33 per cent from 55 per cent last year.

The company hopes to accelerate its growth rate to 140-160 per cent by the end of the fiscal.

As part of its growth strategy, Bajaj Allianz Life will expand its agency force from 1.60 lakh to 2 lakh by the end of the fiscal. The branch network will also be increased from 900 to 1400 next year.

Among the private life insurers, Bajaj Allainz Life has one of the largest agency forces. Currently, 69 per cent of the company's premium comes from the agency channel.