Investment strategy should be based on insurance product: Bajaj Allianz CEO

'This classical discussion that life insurance products should only have life insurance covers and should not have investment along is entirely misplaced'

Tarun Chugh, managing director and chief executive officer at Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, speaks to Advait Rao Palepu on the changes in the sector and his company. Edited excerpts:

Could you walk us through the company's growth over the past year?

We have been strong on the mass market side. Last year we underwrote around 44 million lives, which is around 24 per cent of the entire life insurance sector, including covers by (government-owned giant) Life Insurance Corporation. We are present in 628 branches and 550 cities; 75-80 per cent of micro finance institutions work with us.

Over the next three years,