BoB to sell HDFC Life risk products

Bank of Baroda (BoB) today formally signed a pact with HDFC Standard Life to market the private life insurance company's bancassurance products through its network of 2,700 branches.

However, the bank has already sold 1,200 policies (of the private insurer) with sum assured of Rs 112 crore in the last 21 days. BoB also said its plans to set up a life insurance company through a joint venture remain intact.

The bank will act as a corporate agent for the private life insurer, using its branches to distribute the latter's insurance policies.

The tie-up would give the bank the experience to sell insurance policies and train its own employees.

Thus, the experience and the skilled workforce would come handy when it forms a joint venture, BoB Chairman and Managing Director Anil Khandelwal said.

In the long term, the bank will form an insurance joint venture involving a lot of regulatory work and processes. The tie-up with HDFC Standard Life is based on an open contract and does not bar "us from establishing a separate life insurance company," he said.

Meanwhile, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said Standard Life would raise its stake in HDFC Standard Life to 26 per cent by buying out part of HDFC's holding in the joint venture.