Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co (ABHI), a standalone health insurer, will, this year, look to bring on board public sector banks (PSBs) for expanding its bancassurance tie-ups, a top official said.

“Now that we have completed two years of operations as of March 2019, we are eligible for public sector banks also. This will add to the 10 private banks with which we already have banca tie-ups,” Mayank Bathwal, Chief Executive Officer, ABHI, told BusinessLine .

Besides a strong distribution network through banca tie-ups, ABHI also has an agency force of 18,500 to add to its distribution muscle.

On the banca strategy, Bathwal said ABHI will follow a dual game of going deeper into existing banks and at the same time increasing the width of partners.

“We will continue to look at banks that will give us deeper reach in the country. More than size, we look at which banks will help us get to different geographies and different customer segments. Our Axis Bank partnership is expected to go live at the end of the quarter,” he said.

ABHI, the fastest-growing health insurer, has more than doubled its Gross Written Premium (GWP) to ₹497 crore for the year ended March 31, 2019. This was up 104 per cent over the GWP of ₹243 crore recorded in the previous year.

In 2018-19, retail business accounted for 65 per cent of the total GWP. “We are now looking to take this retail share to over 70 per cent this year (2019-20), and enhance our positioning as a retail-focussed player,” he said.

By 2022-23, the year when ABHI expects to breakeven, the GWP is expected to touch ₹2,000 crore, added Bathwal.

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