Aegon Life Insurance on Friday announced that it will now be known as Bandhan Life. The brand also revealed a new logo and tagline, 'Bharat Ki Udaan, Bandhan Se' as a part of its transition to Bandhan Group.
Bandhan Financial Holdings has officially taken over Aegon Life Insurance and the latter will now be called Bandhan Life.
The insurer said that it will recruit 1,000 new employees in its immediate phase of an "aggressive growth strategy," reinforcing its commitment to expanding its customer base and service Excellence.
"Bandhan Life aims to revolutionize the industry as the synergy between the insurer's technological prowess and Bandhan Group's extensive reach aims to deliver unparalleled insurance solutions to a wider audience, enhancing accessibility and customer experience," the insurer said in a release.
Satishwar B., MD and CEO of Bandhan Life, said, "This transition sets the stage for an amazing new chapter for us as we become a part of the renowned Bandhan Group. With Bandhan Life, we are bolstering our collaborative strengths of digital innovation and robust distribution to enhance the value for all our stakeholders."
He said, "Looking ahead, our vision for the next five years is set: transforming Bandhan Life into a leading multi-channel insurance company. We will be expanding our presence across all relevant product categories, thereby enhancing the services we provide."
"Our tag line 'Bharat Ki Udaan, Bandhan Se' and our new logo of a growing 'bud' represent our dedication to nurturing and empowering the dreams and aspirations of India," he added.
The updated product names, such as Bandhan Life iTerm Prime, reflect this new direction, inviting customers to explore the company's enhanced offerings on its website, said the company.
According to the company, the transition signifies a strategic shift towards becoming a comprehensive insurer that combines the best of digital innovation with the strength of vast distribution channels.
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Life insurance companies new business premium (NBP) rose 15.6% to Rs 60,214 crore in March.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India's largest insurance company, reported 26.4% NBP growth. In the same month, private life insurance companies registered a growth of 2.35%.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 Life insurance companies experienced a slow growth rate in total premium. NBP grew by 2% to Rs 3,77,960 crore, compared to Rs 370543 a year ago period.
The public sector life insurer LIC saw its total premium decline by 4% year on year to Rs 2,22,522 crore. LIC's individual regular premium dropped 1.2% to Rs 32,604 crore while the individual single premium fell 2.5% to Rs 24,992 crore.
Private sector companies registered a growth of 12% in FY24. SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Pru, Bajaj Allianz and Tata AIA Life Insurance were among the top players in private sector.
SBI Life registered the highest growth at 29.2%, contributing half of the growth in the private sector. SBI Life's premium growth through group single premium insurance grew by 66% to Rs 13,431 crore.
The premium earned by the insurer from new contracts during a particular period is referred to as new business premium.
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HDFC Life Insurance, in an exchange filing on Thursday, said the company chairman Deepak S Parekh has stepped down from his role. Following Parekh's resignation, the company has appointed Keki M Mistry as its new chairman.
"The Board has unanimously approved the appointment of Mr Keki M Mistry as the Chairman of the Board with immediate effect subject to approval of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority," the statement from the company read.
Mistry has been associated with the company since December 2000 and is currently acting as Non-Executive Director. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Mistry was the Vice Chairman & CEO of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Limited.
"With the amalgamation of HDFC Limited with HDFC Bank, Mr Mistry superannuated from HDFC Limited and has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of HDFC Bank Limited. He is also a Director on the Boards of several other prominent companies," the exchange filing stated.
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Max Life Insurance has crossed the Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark in assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, 2024. This represents a growth rate of over 20% year-on-year.
The company has seen a 1.5x increase in AUM since September 2021 and growth in AUM can be attributed to Max Life's customer-centric approach, robust distribution channels, and continuous product innovation, supported by a tech-first strategy, the company said.
According to public disclosures, Max Life's gross written premium(GWP) rose 16% to Rs 18,793 crore in first nine months of FY24, with renewal premium increasing by 12% to Rs 11,823 crore.
The total annual premium equivalent (APE) grew by 23% to Rs 4,561 crore.
Claim settlement ratio of the company for the period of 2022-23 stands at impressive 99.51%.
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LIC, the state-owned insurance behemoth, has seen a 59% rise in value of its investments in Adani group companies in 2023-24 fiscal year.
The value of LIC's investment in seven companies of the Adani group has soared from Rs 38,471 crore as on March 31, 2023 to Rs 61,210 crore on March 31, 2024, registering an increase of Rs 22,378 crore, according to stock exchange data.
Last year, the insurance giant faced intense scrutiny over its decision to invest in the Adani group amidst a political meltdown after allegations of stock manipulation sparked by Hindenburg report.
Shares of the Adani Group, which fell around USD 150 billion from their lowest point, have staged a remarkable comeback fueled by strong profit growth across its various businesses.
Facing political pressure, LIC strategically reduced its exposure to two of the group's flagship companies Adani Ports & SEZ and Adani Enterprises only to witness their shares surge by an impressive 83% and 68.4%, respectively. Despite trimming its ownership, LIC investments saw a 59% surge in value in FY24, according to stock exchange data.
LIC's investment in Adani Enterprise Ltd soared from Rs 8,495.31 crore as on March 31, 2023 to Rs 14,305.53 crore a year later, the data showed.
Adani Ports and SEZ increased from Rs 12,450.09 crore to Rs 22,776.89 crore as on March 31, 2024.
LIC's investment in Adani Green Energy Ltd saw huge jump, value more than doubling to Rs 3,937.62 crore in one year.
The insurer also saw value appreciation of its investments in Adani Total Gas Ltd, Ambuja Cements and ACC.
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The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made it mandatory for insurers to issue new policies digitally. From April 1, 2024, it is now mandatory for insurance companies to offer only digital policies to comply with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) regulations to protect the interests of policyholders.
If you decide to buy insurance after April 1, your insurer will issue the policy only in digital form. This is in line with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's Protection of Policyholders' Interests regulations that make it mandatory for insurance companies to issue policies in dematerialised form.
As per the new rules, the e-insurance accounts opening will now be facilitated by four insurance repositories: the CAMS Repository, Karvy, NSDL Database Management (NDML), and the Central Insurance Repository of India.
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) In a circular dated March 20, 2024, titled "Protection of Policyholders' Interests, Operations, and Allied Matters of Insurers Regulations, 2024" said, "Every insurer shall have in place a Board-approved policy for insurance policies issued in electronic form."
The regulator, insurers and other stakeholders say e-insurance will help policyholders and the entire insurance ecosystem.
"Irrespective of whether the proposal is received in electronic form or otherwise, every insurer shall issue insurance policies only in the electronic form," IRDAI's final regulations said.
What is an e-Insurance:
As the name suggests, e-insurance simply means buying insurance policies in a digital format. Electronic insurance policies will be held in a demat account termed an e-Insurance Account, or eIA. One can manage all the insurance policies - life, health, and general - through an e-Insurance Account.
Like dematerialised or paperless shares, the e-insurance account framework involves issuing and holding policies in digital form. It belongs to policyholders who can choose to buy and hold other policies in electronic form. However, do note that unlike multiple share demat accounts that one is allowed to maintain, there can be only one e-insurance account per policyholder.
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PNB MetLife has appointed Vijayalakshmi Natarajan as chief risk and compliance officer (CRCO) effective March 8, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Vijayalakshmi Natarajan, an industry veteran with over three decades of experience, is responsible for enterprise compliance, risk management, design and implementation of internal controls, and policies and procedures, the company said.
Her duties also include managing the company's fraud control unit (FCU), government relations (GR) and internal financial controls (IFC).
Earlier she has worked with SBI Life Insurance, LIC and Aviva Life Insurance.
Natarajan has a background in commerce and credentials as a cost and works accountant. Her expertise is bolstered by fellowships in life insurance (Insurance Information Bureau of India) and underwriting (Academy of Life Underwriting, USA).
Vijayalakshmi Natarajan said, "I look forward to working with all the stakeholders in partnership to maintain and nurture the strong risk, compliance and governance culture in the organisation for our customers, distributors and employees."
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Max Life Insurance Company has appointed Iqbal Mir as Vice President - Human Resources.
"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Vice President Human Resources at Max Life Insurance Company Limited," said Mir.
Prior to joining Max Life Insurance, Mir was Deputy Vice President - HR with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. Earlier, he worked at MetLife, KPMG India, Deloitte, Manpower and Planman HR.
Iqbal Mir holds a PGDM in Human Resources from Fortune Institute of International Business.
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Life insurers reported a 48% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premium (NBP) in February, on the back of the strong growth shown by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) coupled with robust performance by private life insurers.
According to the data released by Life Insurance Council, the NBP of life insurance companies came in at Rs 33,913.18 crore, 48.43% higher than the Rs 22,847.65 crore in the year-ago period.
LIC's premium increased by 67.48% to Rs 19,896.01 crore as against to Rs 11,879.49 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Private life insurance companies reported 27.80% growth to Rs 14,017.17 crore from Rs 10,968.16 crore.
LIC witnessed growth because of a surge in group single premium. It is the largest player in the group single-premium market. The group single premium of the company nearly doubled to Rs 14,661.31 crore.
Meanwhile, even as private insurers lead in the individual segment they posted healthy growth across segments. Among large private players, the premium of the largest private life insurer, SBI Life, grew around 32% to Rs 2,648.86 crore.
In the meantime, other private-sector players posted healthy growth. HDFC Life's NBP rose by 14.49% to Rs 2,602.11 crore and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's increased 32.54% to Rs 1,763.33 crore.
The NBP of Bajaj Allianz Life grew by 12.92% to Rs 1,050.04 crore and Max Life Insurance's climbed around 51% to Rs 1,097.09 crore.
According to experts, usually the February-March period is important for insurance companies typically because customers buy policies and products for tax saving by late January or in February. This is likely to have led to the growth.
In April-February FY24, the NBP of life insurers slipped 0.22% Y-o-Y to more than Rs 3.17 trillion as compared to above Rs 3.18 trillion in the same period of the previous year. LIC's premium dropped 8.35% to above Rs 2.03 trillion whereas private insurers' grew by 14.09% Y-o-Y to more than Rs 1.15 trillion.
NBP is the premium of life insurance companies from new policies for a particular year. It is the sum of the first-year premium and single premium, reflecting the total from new businesses.
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Future Generali India Life Insurance has appointed Alok Rungta as the Managing Director & chief executive officer (MD & CEO) effective April 1, 2024.
Rungta, a chartered accountant, is currently deputy CEO and chief financial officer (CFO) at Future Generali India Life Insurance, has succeeded Bruce De Broize who is the current MD & CEO until March 31, 2024.
Alok Rungta has more than 25 years of experience and before becoming CFO at Future Generali he held executive positions at insurance companies in the Philippines, Hong Kong and India. Alok was instrumental in transforming Future Generali India's customer acquisition, engagement, sales innovation, and digital enablement operations.
Speaking about his new role, Alok Rungta said, "Being a part of Future Generali India Life Insurance, elevating a leadership position is both a privilege and a progression. I'm committed to continuing the good work of my predecessors, focusing on steady growth and creating a difference. Leading in the dynamic Indian market, my goal is to bring new ideas, expand our reach, and ensure we add value to the lives of our customers and stakeholders."
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Aegon Life, a digital life insurance company, on Monday, said that it has transferred the shareholdings of Aegon India Holding BV and Bennett, Coleman & Company (BCCL) to Bandhan Financial Holdings (BFHL).
The transfer of the shareholdings was announced Monday. With this, Bandhan Financial Holdings (BFHL) has completed the acquisition and now becomes the promoter of Aegon Life Insurance.
Before this, Aegon Life was a joint venture between Aegon India Holding BV, of Dutch origin, and Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd, which is the owner and publisher of The Economic Times.
Aegon Life sold 15,618 policies as of December-end last year, more than 10 times the year-ago number, giving it a 0.08% market share. Under group insurance schemes, the insurer covered more than 3 lakh lives. It collected first-year premiums of Rs 68 crore at the end of 2023, compared with Rs 4 crore a year ago. The transition will maintain the continuity of Aegon Life's management team and employees.
Satishwar B., MD and CEO, Aegon Life, said, "This marks an exhilarating new beginning - the synergy between our tech-centric operations and Bandhan's extensive distribution capabilities will expand the reach of our innovative insurance solutions across the nation. As we join the Bandhan family, we extend heartfelt thanks to Aegon and BCCL for their unwavering support, and we eagerly anticipate a future filled with exciting possibilities."
Karni Singh Arha, Managing Director, BFHL, said, "India's life insurance market, given its size and potential, is crucial to becoming a diversified financial services group. Given Bandhan's focus on making formal financial services available to the masses, this acquisition further enhances that endeavour. We deeply appreciate Aegon Life's digital capabilities and its experienced management team and together we look forward to leveraging their digital strength with Bandhan's distribution expertise to grow this business.
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PNB MetLife India Insurance on Monday announced the launch of its new fund PMLI Small Cap Fund in ULIP segment.
The Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) segment of the fund offers policyholders the chance to invest in a diversified equity portfolio with a focus on small-cap companies.
This fund will be available at a unit price of Rs 10 during the New Fund Offer (NFO) period from February 19, 2024, to February 29, 2024.
Customers can participate in the new fund through various ULIP plans offered by the company, including PNB MetLife Smart Platinum Plan, PNB MetLife Goal Ensuring Multiplier Plan, and PNB MetLife Mera Wealth Plan.
Sanjay Kumar, chief investment officer at PNB MetLife, said during the launch, "The small cap fund presents exciting potential for investors to benefit from economic reforms and macro-economic tailwinds by capitalising on stock selection backed by thorough fundamental research."
"The small cap fund aims to invest in a basket of mainly small-sized companies that exhibit the potential to be future large caps and are well-placed to benefit from India's strong economic growth. The fund advocates a long-term investment horizon to ride over the short-term fluctuations and capture long-term growth potential," Kumar added.
A ULIP is a combination of life insurance and investment, where a part of the premiums paid by the policyholder is utilized to provide life insurance coverage, while the remainder (post expenses, if any) is invested in various equity and debt instruments or a combination of both, according to the policyholder's risk appetite.
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Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company on February 12, 2024 launched a digital centric campaign for Guaranteed Wealth Builder Plans (GWBP). The campaign showcases the range of reliable investment options offered by Kotak Life Insurance.
Its objective is to tackle the primary concerns of consumers regarding investments, particularly addressing uncertainties surrounding returns and emphasizing the importance of investing in tax-efficient instruments.
These wealth builder plans aim to assist customers in their wealth creation endeavors and are crafted to provide assured returns. It serves as a reassuring solution for customers at a time marked by uncertainty such as market fluctuations, health concerns and job insecurity. The company also highlights the tax advantages associated with these plans.
Subhasis Ghosh, Joint President, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance said, "Our campaign aims to empower individuals to make informed decisions and secure their financial future through the bouquet of the Guaranteed Wealth Builder Plans (GWBPs). These plans assure investors of fixed returns, thereby providing steady financial growth. Recognizing the importance of financial certainty, GWBPs enable investors to strategize and budget their finances confidently, a crucial aspect given that economic uncertainties are common."
Ankit Mathur, Group Creative Director, Grey Group, said, "With Kotak Guaranteed Wealth Builder Plans, we had the unique opportunity to combat two of the biggest concerns consumers have in regards to their investments- the uncertainty of returns and the need to invest in tax-efficient instruments. We created two films that voice out the internal thoughts of our audience in a light-hearted way."
Kotak Life's guaranteed wealth builder plans encompass with, Fixed and predictable returns - allowing investors to plan and budget their finances with more certainty. Long-term financial planning - Knowing the expected returns can benefit long-term financial planning and goal setting. Protection from market fluctuations - Investors in this plans are shielded from the fluctuations and uncertainties of the financial markets, making them a suitable option for those seeking stability. Encouraging financial discipline - Investing in plans with a fixed return can encourage financial discipline and regular contributions, fostering a savings habit. Designed for long-term investment - Guaranteed wealth plans are often designed for long-term investment, making them suitable for individuals with a long-term financial horizon, such as retirement planning, a child's education, etc. Tax exemption - These plans offer exemptions on the premium one pays and tax-free returns for premiums up to Rs 5 lakh.
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Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched its new unit linked life insurance product, LIC Index Plus. The launch date as per BSE notification by LIC is February 5, LIC Index Plus will be available for purchase from February 6, 2024.
According to the BSE press release, "Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, this is to inform you that the Corporation has announced the launch of its new product available for sale from February 6, 2024."
LIC's Index Plus is a unit linked, non-participating, regular premium, individual life insurance plan which offers life insurance cover cum savings throughout the term of the policy. Guaranteed additions as a percentage of Annualized Premium shall be added to the unit fund on completion of specific duration of policy years under an in-force policy and shall be utilized to purchase units.
Key features of LIC's Index Plus:
The minimum age for entry is 90 days (completed) and maximum age at entry is 50 or 60 years (nearer birthday), depending on the basic sum insured.
Minimum Age at maturity is 18 years (completed) and Maximum Age at maturity is 75 or 85 years (nearer birthday) depending on the basic Sum Assured.
The minimum policy term is 10 or 15 years, depending on the annualised premium, while the maximum term is 25 years.
The premium payment terms are the same as the policy terms.
Minimum premium ranges from Rs. 30000/-(Yearly), Rs.15000/-(HalfYearly), Rs 7500/- (Quarterly), Rs 2500/- Monthly (NACH) depending upon the Mode/Premium payment frequency and Maximum Premium-No limit subject to underwriting decision.
The Basic Sum Assured ranges from 7 to 10 times the annualised premium for ages 90 days (completed) to 50 years (nearer birthday), and 7 times the annualised premium for ages 51 years to 60 years.
Option to choose any one of the two funds
There is an option to choose any one of the two funds to invest premiums initially and at the time of switching, i.e. Flexi Growth Fund and Flexi Smart Growth Fund wherein investment will be primarily in selected stocks which are a part of NSE NIFTY 100 index or NSE NIFTY50 index respectively.
There is an option to partially withdraw the units at any time after the 5 years' lock-in period subject to conditions.
On Life Assured surviving the Date of maturity, an amount equal to Unit fund Value as on date of maturity shall be payable.
Amount payable on death of Life assured differs depending upon whether death of life assured is before the date of commencement of risk or after the date of commencement of risk.
Refund of Mortality Charges are subject to terms and conditions.
There is an option of availing LIC's Linked Accidental Death benefit Rider.
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