Federation opposes FDI in insurance sector

Vijayawada: The National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of Republic Of India (NFIFWI) is opposed to the Centre's move to raise the Foreign Direct Investing (FDI) in the coverage sector.

Federation Secretary-General R. Jayaprakash, in a release here, claimed that the projected move would assist foreign companies to derive sole control over the nest egg of the people in the sector.

The move was aimed at appeasing the foreign coverage companies in the country, which were incurring immense losses, he alleged.

Jayaprakash said the "nefarious design" to retreat the autonomous warrant for all coverage policies of the public sector, on the stalking-horse of offering a degree playing ground, tantamounts to treachery of the basic aim of the industry.

The Centre's move would also strip the citizens of their lone beginning of societal security, he said.

The NFIFWI, the lone representative organic structure of 21,000 development military military officers of Life Insurance Corporation of India, organised a Parliament March on March 5 to protest the move to "destabilise" the Corporation and high spot the "oppressive measures" initiated by the LIC direction against the development officers to phase them out from the industry, Jayprakash said.

Though a Memo of Understanding on service statuses was signed by NFIFWI and LIC in 1989, the direction and the Centre were trying to change the service statuses to pave manner for private players, he alleged.

The NFIFWI also sought continuation of autonomous warrant ensured for LIC policies, protecting the involvement of the agents and conducting a comprehensive reappraisal of the post-privatisation epoch before taking any critical decisions, he added.

Kotak Life plans health insurance

Kolkata, March 8, 2008 Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd, a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Depository Financial Institution Ltd and Old Mutual plc, will be launching a standalone wellness coverage strategy in the first one-half of the adjacent fiscal.

Till now, Kotak have been offering wellness strategies only as riders to its life coverage policies and this new strategy would be a standalone one, according to Arun Patil, company's senior vice- president for preparation and management.

"This standalone strategy would cover as many diseases and contingencies as possible," he told reporters.

Kotak would get dialogues with infirmaries for this strategy after this fiscal, he said, but declined to divulge additional details.

The company is also increasing the figure of subdivision business offices from 110 now to 140 across the state by the end of this month.

"In the adjacent fiscal, we be after to put up another 100 subdivision business offices out of which 10 would be for the eastern region," Patil said.

"The first twelvemonth insurance premium aggregation for the current financial is likely to touch Rs 1000 crore and we are targeting at Rs 2,500 crore in the financial 2008-09," Patil said.

He was here for the launch of three women-specific schemes --- Kotak Endowment Plan, Kotak Flexi Plan and Kotak Smart Advantage Plan.

"The strategies are for 20 years, with age ranging from 0-65 years," Patil said.

The lower limit insurance premium amount is Rs 12,000 per annum and the mark is to tap at least 1 hundred thousand women in three years, he said.

"This is a manner of acknowledging the powerfulness of women on International Womens' Day," Patil said.

The strategy would begin targeting women at the national degree in a year.

ICICI Prudential to offer jobs to retired NCOs

CHENNAI: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company will be providing 2nd calling chances for retired non-commissioned military officers (NCOs) within the company. The recruited retired NCOs will fall in ICICI Prudential as unit of measurement directors for the company's rural business.A six-week Certificate in Insurance Management programme (CIM) have been instituted in association with STRIVE (skills, preparation and research in vocational education) to fit the former regular army force with the niceties of concern while providing a corporate platform within the company, Executive Director Normality Second Kannan told mediapersons on Thursday.STRIVE is an institute for vocational instruction and preparation to authorise the NCOs with the cognition of life coverage to go effectual coverage professionals. "This is the first of its sort enterprise in the life coverage space designed to supply a endowment pool for the company's rural initiative," said Kannan.So far, 231 unit of measurement of measurement directors from the regular army have got been recruited out of the 3,000 unit directors for rural areas. Of this, a concentration of 48 per cent would be in the South. Kannan added that ICICI Prudential was providing former NCOs a corporate chance after retirement.The NCOs would have got the benefit of working in their hometowns. The trustiness of the armed military units would assist the company construct stronger link with the rural client base. Retired NCOs who are alumni and have got completed 10 old age service would be eligible for the CIM programme. About 25 agents would be placed under each unit of measurement manager.

Insurers want more feet on the ground

Life insurance companies are fast developing another statistical distribution channel, one that may assist work out multiple problems. The federal agency and bancassurance theoretical accounts may be the two most effectual channels, but companies are now creating a direct selling force.

Such a military unit could undertake multiple issues of productivity, increased penetration, keeping and cases of possible mis-selling.

Most insurance companies including Max New House Of York Life, Bharti Axa Life, Birla SunLife, Reliance Life, Tata AIG Life, Kotak Insurance and others are said to be lining up concrete programs or testing the concept.

Industry issues like distribution, committee structure, productiveness and work force have got been in the limelight. Companies are therefore experimenting with newer ways of reaching out.

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DNA Money talked to some insurance companies to calculate out the trend.

Tata AIG Life, which have a balanced statistical distribution break-up between federal federal agency and bancassurance, is testing out the possible of this channel, said Manish Lalwani, senior frailty president for agency sales.

Max New House Of York Life, which already have a gross sales force, programs to spread out it.

"We have got 1000 employees under this section and wishing to scale it to over 22 mercantile establishments all over the country," Gary Roentgen Bennett, CEO, said. "While agents will stay the key, we experience that influence and control on direct employees is greater. And with the productiveness of direct employees being higher than the norm agent, it do sense to develop this statistical distribution transmission channel seriously," he added.

Priya Ranjan, director, HR, Bharti Axa Life, said, "We are investing in edifice up a strong direct gross sales military unit as a separate transmission channel of distribution. We have got programs to increase the figure of employees from 2,000 to 4,000 by December 2008."

Birla Sun Life is piloting respective direct selling theoretical accounts at present. "One manner is purely through direct Mailers and teleselling for the pur present of cross selling. The other is an experimentation with employees perhaps under a contract, but more than of feet-on-street, and without the committee as given to agents," Anjana Grewal, senior VP, selling and communication, Birla SunLife said.

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Insurance cover for tea growers

Coonoor: Indcoserve, the vertex organic structure of the assorted industrial co-operative tea mills called the Indco factories, have decided to cover the members of these mills under a new coverage strategy being mooted by the Tea Board.

The strategy including life, medical, accident and instruction is expected to profit some 20,000 little growers. The coverage companies have got come up out with attractive bundles whereby a grouping of five members in a household is covered for at least Rs 30,000 per twelvemonth in the best infirmaries of the Nilgiris, Coimbatore and nearby districts.

The yearly insurance premium involved is just a few hundred rupees, said R.D. Nazeem, Executive Director, Tea Board. Tea Board would pay a portion of the premium.