Pension, health policies likely to grow in a ‘big way’

Pension and health insurance products have good potential for growth, according to a senior official with HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.

“We expect pension and health products to grow in a big way. Nuclear families are on the rise and people are more dependent on their own income to support their old age, said Sanjay Tripathy Executive Vice-President, Marketing and Direct Channels, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.

With most of the people working in private companies, the need for pension will increase for which planning needs to be done in advance, he added.

Pending approvals, a concern

According to Tripathy, “Multiple products are pending with the regulator for a long time and it is becoming a concern for us. One of our products took almost nine months (to get approval).”

“When we plan a product we look at catering to consumer needs at that particular period of time. But by the time you get an approval the macroeconomic conditions just might change. And it may not help us with our correct launch plan,” he said.

The regulator is likely to come out with standard parameters by December for individual policies in life insurance that will have a section on needs analysis. The standard parameters have been discussed by the insurance companies with the Life Insurance Council.

This year, HDFC Life has launched three products including savings and investments and women’s plan in the first half of fiscal year.

Triapthy said the health, pension and other products have been filed with the regulator are likely to get approval soon.

>beena.parmar@thehindu.co.in

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