HDFC Standard Life plans 4 more branches

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company plans to double its distribution network in Gujarat by the end of the current financial year.

The company will soon start operations in Vapi, Gandhidham, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. With these launches, HDFC Standard Life will have eight branch offices in the state.

Currently, it operates from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot in the state.

The company plans to open over 40 new branches across the country in the current financial year. It already has 60 branches in India.

"We have done very well in Gujarat in the last financial year. We see good potential for further growth in the state. We are thus therefore expanding our reach to cover more cities," said Pankaj Seith, head, alternate channels, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company.

The company has generated new business premium of Rs 232.5 crore during the financial year 2003-2004, registering a growth of 76 per cent over the last year. The company eyes a growth of over 350 per cent in the current financial year.

Meanwhile, HDFC Life Insurance has become the only private company to declare its fourth consecutive bonus for policy holders. The sum assured for the policies sold (cumulative insurance coverage) of the company has crossed Rs 13,500 crore mark. The company has sold policies covering over 4,50,000 lives as on March 31, this year.

The company has recently launched a children's plan on the unit-linked platform called 'Young Star Plan', which is targeted at individuals who want to make their own investment choice while choosing a policy to secure their child's future.

This plan will complement its existing unit linked plans, which includes the unit linked endowment plan and the unit linked pension plan.

The promoter company HDFC has 81.6 per cent stake in the company, while its U K based Standard Life Assurance Company has 18.4 per cent stake in the company.

While talking about investments made by the company, Seith said: "We are committed to providing customers good long term returns on their investments while ensuring the security of their family's future. Our four consecutive bonus declarations in as many years is a proof of our success so far."