The Hindu Business Line : LIC South Zone tops in three biz segments

LIC'S Southern Zone division was ranked first among the corporation's seven zones in terms of growth and achievement in three business segments in the 2003-04 fiscal.

The LIC Zonal Manager, Mr R.R. Nair, on Friday said that the zone had topped in terms of growth and achievement in single premium, pension and unit linked segments.

South Zone recorded a total premium income of Rs 8,914 crore (Rs 6,840 crore), an increase of 30.3 per cent over the previous year. It recorded a first premium income of Rs 1,084 crore (Rs 969 crore) that came from 32.71 lakh policies with an attendant sum assured of Rs 26,479 crore.

Other business segments that showed sharp growth were the pension and unit-linked ones. Pension segment generated a premium income of Rs 902.81 crore (Rs 145.83 crore) while unit-linked business contributed an income of Rs 126.21 crore (Rs 1.62 crore).

The South Zone division plans to focus on high-value sales such as unit-linked and pension segments.

An LIC release said that South Zone had set itself a target of 37.65 lakh policies for a new business premium of around Rs 1,500 crore and total income of over Rs 10,000 crore.

The zone's outstanding claims stood at 0.04 per cent of total claims (both survival benefits and death claims). Mr Nair also said that a family (husband and wife) in Pondicherry bought a policy with a sum assured of Rs 20 crore, the single largest policy in South Zone.

A person Bellary asked for a Rs 51-crore policy. Eventually, LIC underwrote a policy with a sum assured of Rs 35 crore, he added.