Birla Sun Life Insurance today launched its group gratuity plan in Bangalore . The plan offers comprehensive solutions to employers for funding their gratuity liability.
This is the company's fourth insurance product for corporates, after its term, gratuity and superannuation products.
"The unique feature of the plan is that it covers future service gratuity and provident fund as term insurance in case of an employee's death during service," Nani Javeri, chief executive officer, said. The plan includes four options, fixed, secured, stable and growth funds, with a facility of switching between options.
The company also announced the opening of its second branch in Bangalore, taking the total number of branches to 13, across nine cities. This number will be increased to 22 branches in 15 cities in the coming 6 weeks. "As we expand we will increase our employee strength from 400 to 850 as it expands," Javeri said.
"The insurance market is estimated to grow at 18 per cent to 20 per cent in the next few years, and there is great potential for this business in Bangalore. Of our 10 branches, Bangalore stands at number two in contributions," Javeri said.
The one-year-old company wants to be one of the top three players in insurance in five years "not necessarily in sale of policies, but in innovative investment products linked with insurance", Javeri said.
It plans to sell 90,000 policies this year, with corresponding annualised premium of more than Rs 215 crore, a growth of over 300 per cent.
The market for individual life insurance products is estimated to grow to Rs 200 billion in 2005-2006, from Rs 90 billion last year. The market for group insurance products is estimated to grow from Rs 40 billion to Rs 90 billion in the same period, Javeri said.
"Only 87 million people in India are insured, out the 360 million who are insurable. This shows how huge the market is and the lack of awareness among Indians," he said.
Birla Sun Life Insurance will focus on the top three income segments for individual life insurance business and gradually move to lower segments. "We are the first company to offer unit-linked products, first to start a multi-channel distribution strategy and the first to achieve our rural and social obligations according to the Irda regulations. And it is our innovation that has helped us garner a premium income of Rs 350 million, 12 per cent above plan," Javeri said.
