Insurers plan products for rural areas

Insurance companies have identified rural areas as the next big opportunity. Though, according to the Irda norms, insurers are expected to underwrite a percentage of the total policies from rural areas, they are now seeing the sector as a business opportunity.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company that launched operations in rural areas in February this year has so far garnered over Rs 100 crore of new business premium. Given the low base, the company expects to more than double the business by the next year.

ICICI Prudential Life has developed a multi-channel distribution network to increase touch-points for over 260 micro-offices in tehsils and districts across key states, over 20,000 advisors and has tied up with 20 cooperative banks, 8 RRBs to distribute its products.

Besides, the insurer has also tied up with Indian Postal Services in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat to provide policyholders premium-paying facilities in cash. A few months ago, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launched the biometric smart cards for its rural policyholders.

On the other hand, SBI Life has announced its entry into micro-insurance with the launch of Grameen Shakti in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. The micro-insurance products will be marketed through State Bank of India's branch network in Orissa.

Going forward, the company plans to launch micro- insurance products across the rural markets in India through State Bank of India, which has the country's largest distribution network, covering the entire spectrum of rural India.