 "IndiaFirst Life gets Rs 150 cr additional capital infusion")
Private life insurance company IndiaFirst Life Insurance has received a capital infusion of Rs 150 crore from its three promoters — Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal & General. This infusion is in line with the shareholding pattern of the promoters wherein Bank of Baroda has 44 per cent, Andhra Bank has 30 per cent and Legal & General has 26 per cent stake.
“All the three shareholders are committed in the long-term and, at present, the Indian promoters are not looking to dilute any stakes,” said R M Vishakha, managing director and chief executive officer, IndiaFirst Life Insurance.
The new round of capital infusion takes the total share capital to Rs 625 crore.
Vishakha said the additional capital would be used for business development and growth. For IndiaFirst, she said technology would be an integral part of the strategy to reach across customer segments. The insurer launched operations in November 2009 and achieved break-even last year.
The insurer's solvency ratio as of June 30, 2015 was 163% and Vishakha added that with the capital infusion, they expect the number to be over 200%. The regulatory requirement of solvency stands at 150% for all insurers.
The insurer is also planning to use technology for better outcome for customers and to further promote need-based selling. IndiaFirst Life already has about 80% stake coming from tablets, according to her. They are looking to now use analytics and cognitive analysis to ensure that customers get the appropriate products as per their individual needs.
IndiaFirst Life has seen 76% Weighted Received Premia (WRP) growth, as of September 30, 2015 on a year-on-year basis in non- fund business, this is the new business excluding Corporate Funds.
Also, the company is also looking to expand into the mass market insurance space. Vishakha said that this is an area which is expected to see a surge especially with exponential growth in middle class.
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