Max New York Life posts 122% growth in premium income

Max New York Life's (MNYL), one of India's leading private life insurance companies, has recorded a 122 per cent growth in its total premium income for the financial year ended March 31, 2004 at Rs 212 crore from Rs 97 crore last year.

According to the company, the insurance market is expected to grow at 22 per cent every year till 2008.

Addressing a press conference after inaugurating the company's second office in the city, Anuroop Tony Singh, chief executive officer and managing director of Max New York Life, said: "In a market dominated by savings products, our achievement of having sold over 2,85,000 individual policies that offer the right balance between protection and savings is satisfying. With an excellent portfolio of lives insured and a favourable mortality experience, we are confident that we are well on course of realising our vision, which is to become the country's most admired life insurance company."

The new office in the city takes the company's total number of branch offices to 37 across 27 cities in India. The company has distributed cumulative insurance worth over Rs 11,000 crore from Rs 5,400 crore in 2002-03 and has sold more than 2,85,000 policies.

The company has built an agency force in excess of 5,500. At present, Max New York Life's paid-up capital is placed at Rs 346 crore.

On the expansion in the state, Singh said: "This market has contributed significantly to our success and will continue to play a strategic role in our overall plans. Given the encouraging response we have received here, we are pleased to expand our operations by launching a new branch office."

According to Singh, 82 per cent of the company's product portfolio comprises whole life and long-term endowment policies. MNYL has also opened three rural branches at Patiala, Bhatinda and Sangrur in Punjab.

"At present, we are looking at a viable business model and are planning to expand to other rural areas once the model is in place," Singh said. Max New York Life offers 13 products and nine riders that can be customised to over 400 combinations.

C S Rao, chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), hoped that the insurance agencies would open offices at all district headquarters and not just limit themselves to the cities.