Comments
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd plans to launch its micro-insurance and pension products this fiscal.
Characterised by low premium and flexible payment schedule, micro-insurance is designed to cater the low-income group. According to Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, Member (Life), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the regulator is expected to issue guidelines on such products shortly.
“We have already designed some products and are waiting for the regulatory guidelines. Once the guidelines are out, we will seek the regulatory approval to roll out micro-insurance products. We are hopeful of launching it by September this year,” Mohit Rochlani, Business Head-Bancassurance, IndiaFirst Life, told Business Line .
IndiaFirst Life is a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal & General.
Challenges
According to Rochlani, distribution and servicing of premiums are the biggest challenges for the micro-insurance sector. “These segments of people generate daily income. So we have to put in place a system for collecting premiums on a daily or weekly basis from such customers,” he said.
The insurance watchdog is exploring various channels, including business correspondents and kirana shops, to help extend insurance into rural areas.
With its promoter banks having a well spread-out network in the southern and northern regions, IndiaFirst is confident of reaching rural pockets. Plans are afoot to tie up with a bank in the eastern region to ramp up its presence there.
This apart, the insurer has tie-ups with seven regional rural banks. “We are looking at tying up with more RRBs across the country to ramp up our rural presence,” he said.
Post IRDA’s amendment in pension guidelines in January 2012, IndiaFirst is planning entry into this segment. “Deliberations are on. Typically, the January-March quarter is the time when there is good demand for such products. So we hope to launch them before the last quarter of this fiscal,” he said.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.