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Volume 10, Issue 6, June 2014
 


IRDA tightens norms for replacement of life insurance policy
With the objective of safeguarding the interest of the customers, it has been made mandatory by IRDA that the agents should provide full details in transparent manner before persuading policyholders to shift to another life insurance firm. Tightening of replacement norms would help in retaining the life insurance policy.

This enables to avoid any misrepresentation as to the factual position of financial consequences of replacing an existing life insurance policy.

It is also envisaged that these guidelines encourage fair market conduct and fair business practices amongst life insurers and insurance intermediaries.

The draft said, "no life insurance agent, insurance intermediary or an insurer is permitted to replace a life insurance policy, except, if it is in the interest of the policyholder". Replacement, if required, would be subject to certain conditions, including obtaining a written consent from the prospect for replacing existing policies.

Reliance Life Insurance launches Claims Guarantee service  
As per the IRDA guidelines, death claims must be settled within 30 days of receipt of complete claim documents. With a view to comply with this directive, Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) has launched 'Claims Guarantee' which is a service initiative to settle death claim payment in 12 working days or pay an interest of 6.5 per cent per annum to the nominee.  This initiative has eased the claim settlement mechanism to support the deceased person’s family and settle their claims payment in 12 working days, says Anup Rau, CEO of RLIC. Under this initiative, the company has assigned Claims Relationship Officers who would personalized assistance for every claim settlement.  

"With Claims Guarantee, we have further eased the claim settlement mechanism to support the deceased person's family and settle their claims payment in 12 working days," RLIC Chief Executive Officer Anup Rau said here. 

The company will pay an interest to the customer at the rate of 6.5 per cent per annum, if the decision is repudiated and 12-day time line is breached. RLIC has settled 17,447 death claims worth Rs 198.85 crore in 2013-14. 

Online Insurance Plans from HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company
Internal sources of HDFC Standard Life reveal that the Company will start to sell most of its insurance plans online by the end of this financial year with a view to take leverage of over 20 million people who look for online purchase of insurance. The online plans would include child plans, retirement plans and other plans.

Already HDFC's new unit linked insurance policy (ULIP) 'Click2Invest' is available for purchase only online.

The company's average premium per policy on its term insurance plans is around Rs 12,000. 

Shriram Life Insurance posts Rs 86 crore profit for FY14 
The Chennai-based Shriram Life Insurance Company had reported a profit after tax at Rs 82 crore during the previous fiscal.

Total gross premium collected during the financial year ending March 31, 2014, stood at Rs 395 crore as against Rs 421 crore during the previous year. 

The company had sold 1.38 lakh polices during the year ending March 31, 2014 as against 1.54 lakh policies in the previous year. The Managing Director Akhila Srinivasan said, "we were largely focusing on Southern territories. However, we have made significant efforts in expanding to other geographies and have entered markets in North and West”.

Source: Economic Times

Future Generali India Insurance ties up with Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank
Future Generali India Insurance, a joint venture between India’s leading retailer Future Group and Italy based global insurance provider Generali, announces its tie up with Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank, one of the leading multi-state Scheduled Urban Co-operative Bank. The bank presently operates from Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Goa. The tie-up was officially announced in an event attended by the senior leadership of both companies. From Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank, K. Joy Thomas – Managing Director and H. Krishna Karanth – General Manager were present at the event held in Mumbai.

The tie-up will enable Future Generali to sell general insurance products to the bank’s huge customer base that is spread across 97 branches. The bank branches will act as a one stop shop for its customers for all their general insurance needs. This tie-up will ensure that the bank’s clients and staff get variety of products under one roof without having to step out of the branch.

Exide Life to add 18,000 new agents in FY15
According to industry report, Exide Life Insurance is planning to recruit 18,000 new agents in the current financial year.

At present, the insurer has an agency force of 35000 agents. A minimum of 25% of the 18,000 new agents will come from North India, where the company wants to expand its business.

Tata AIA Life Insurance appoints Amitabh Verma as COO
Tata AIA Life Insurance Company (Tata AIA Life) has appointed Amitabh Verma as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Amitabh will primarily be responsible for driving Operational Excellence across the company, and shall be reporting directly to the CEO.

ATM as a channel to sell insurance products
Life insurance companies are considering a proposal to leverage the wide ATM network of banks to sell their products.

Speaking at the Insure India Summit organised by Fintelekt, P Nandagopal, MD and CEO of Indiafirst Life Insurance, said, “Banking sector has the maximum reach in the financial services sector in India and currently most of the transactions in banks are happening through ATMs.

“So, the idea is to ride on the wide ATM network and offer life insurance products to bring down the overall distribution cost. This will make life insurance products more attractive from the customer’s point of view.”

Nandagopal said that the life insurer is currently in discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India to study the feasibility of such a model.

“If the model is implemented, the entire policy experience for the customer will completely change. Customers can be given something like smart cards, whereby they can check the entire policy value at an ATM and can also make payments through it,” he said.

Source: Economic Times

Reduced product portfolio may hit LIC’s premium income
Following the directives from IRDA to discontinue sale of old life insurance products since January 1 and come up with new products compliant with the revised guidelines, Life Insurance Corporation has withdrawn many of its products.

Currently, LIC has around 12 products, down from 54 until December 31, 2013. This may lead to lower premium income in the first half of this fiscal as it faces much reduced product portfolio as well as problems related to selling new products.

This also makes the life of the agent very miserable as the new compliant products are yet to get acceptance in the market place.  

In January-March quarter this year, LIC saw new premium collection of Rs. 24,350 crore, 7.1 per cent lower than Rs. 26,210 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

New premium collection from old policies until December-end largely contributed to the yearly total (2013-14) of Rs. 90,123 crore, up 17.82 per cent.

The country’s largest insurer expects the sales to pick-up in the second half of the fiscal as result of more approved new products as well as new marketing strategy.

DHFL Pramerica Life achieves break even
Private life insurer DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Co Ltd on Wednesday said it achieved break-even in 2013-14, its sixth year of operations. For the first time, the company reported a small net profit of around 1 crore in FY14, as against a loss of 132 crore in FY13. The life insurer recorded a growth of over 29 per cent in gross written premium at ?306 crore in 2013-14 and added over 4 lakh customers to its fast growing customer base.

 Anoop Pabby, MD and CEO, DPLI, said, “We achieved a break-even in just 6 years of its operations. In an industry challenged by falling margins, coupled with reduction in new business premium, this is a significant achievement. We are very encouraged by our results and view this performance as the beginning of our journey to greater success and profitability.”

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