DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance (DPLI) is actively looking at inorganic growth and is open to picking up “strategic stake” in small banks and NBFCs, Anoop Pabby, Managing Director and CEO of this private life insurer said.
“Organic build up in insurance is slow. So if any NBFC or small bank is looking for growth capital, we will be open to picking a strategic stake in them to expand our distribution and footprint”, Pabby told Business Line here on Tuesday.
Aided by sharp growth in new business premium (which stood at about ₹ 320 crore till November this fiscal), DPLI has made remarkable strides in the private sector life insurance league table to 12{+t}{+h} position from a level of 23{+r}{+d} rank last year.
DPLI is currently capitalised at ₹ 1,207 crore and had networth of about ₹ 720 crore.
This is after capital injection of about ₹ 325 crore into DPLI by US–based Prudential Financial Inc (PFI) in June this year.
Pabby said DPLI was well capitalised and was not looking to raise more capital to fund its growth.
Currently, PFI has a 26 percent stake in DPLI, with Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) directly owning 50 percent and the remaining 24 percent owned by two promoter entities of DHFL.
Pabby said DPLI is also looking at Bancassurance tie-up to gain distribution network and may pitch for tie-ups with Indian Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank.
As on date, DPLI does not have “big banca” relationships, but it does have third party distribution tie-ups with some rural and district cooperative banks, Pabby said.
For the first half this fiscal, DPLI recorded a net profit of ₹ 12 crore.
Pabby also said DPLI had almost fully leveraged on the branch network of DHFL for sale of its insurance products.
This to some extent explained the ramp up in new business premium in the first half this fiscal, he said.
Meanwhile, DPLI is awaiting IRDA approval for as many as 9 products. Most of the new products are on the endowment side, Pabby side.
Srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in