Leading private sector general insurer, SBI General
Insurance Company has opposed the idea of making it mandatory for banks to act
as insurance aggregators, saying this move would not help curbing mis-selling
of insurance products.
SBI General has written to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA), stating that it disagrees with the proposal, said Mr. Mike Wilkins, MD
& CEO of Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the foreign partner of the
company.
However, the company said that it would take a fresh look at its marketing
strategy if the regulator implements the insurance broking model.
SBI General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between the State Bank
of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). SBI holds 74% stake and IAG the
remaining 26% stake in the joint venture.
The finance ministry and the IRDA have clearly said that banks will soon have
to adopt the broking model, which allows banks to sell products of all
insurance companies and disallows the current practice of acting as 'corporate
agents', wherein they sell products of a single company with whom they have an
exclusive tie-up.
Aimed at providing treatment-specific insurance cover, private insurance major, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company has
launched a new health insurance policy named 'Surgical Protection Plan', which
provides insurance cover only for surgical treatments.
Bajaj Allianz's new offering assures a guaranteed benefit amount depending on
surgical treatment that is graded based on the costs and covers around 600
surgeries.
“Since cost related to surgeries form a major part of medical expenses, a
common man's biggest requirement is to cover these expenses. Our new product
covers surgeries at a very reasonable cost and we hope to get a sound response
for this product," said Mr. Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz
General Insurance.
According to the company's statement, Surgical Protection Plan offers 11 plans
with sums insured ranging from Rs. 1 lac to Rs. 10 lac, which can also be opted
for, in addition to the hospitalisation policy or any other health policy.
It also provides add-on covers such as hospital cash, critical illness and personal accident cover.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between
Bajaj Finserv Limited (formerly part of Bajaj Auto Limited) and Allianz SE.
Source: http://www.insuringindia.com
With a view to create awareness for insurance needs and
on different insurance products, the General Insurance Council (GIC) in
association with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has
launched an insurance awareness drive on television, newspaper and other media
channels on April 19 on the occasion of Insurance Awareness Day.
IRDA had declared April 19 as the Insurance Awareness Day to intensify
insurance penetration in the country. Since IRDA came into existence on 19th
April, 2000, the regulator chose this date to celebrate as Insurance Day.
The total budget for the campaign is Rs. 16 crore, out of which 12 crore will
be contributed by the insurance regulator and the remaining 4 crore will be
funded by the general insurance companies.
“Lack of insurance awareness has proved to be one of the hurdles in penetration
of insurance across the country. Therefore, in an attempt to enhance insurance
awareness across the nation, IRDA is celebrating its formation day as Insurance
Awareness Day on April 19 involving all stakeholders of the insurance
sector," said an IRDA statement.
Apart from efforts made from the IRDA, individual companies have also been
asked to make additional initiatives to increase awareness about the need of
insurance, the products and the industry.
Kishore Biyani's led Future Group has announced that it
has called off the deal with Larsen & Toubro (L & T) to sell 51% of its
stake in general insurance joint venture Future Generali India Insurance Company.
In a filing to the BSE, the Future Group said, “It has been decided not to
proceed with the said transaction due to excessive delay in finalising the
transaction documents and obtaining approvals.“
As per the agreement, on completion of the deal, L&T would have 51% of
stake, while Generali Group would hold 26% of stake and the rest to be held by
Future Group in the insurance joint venture.
The deal had valued Future Generali India Insurance Company at around Rs 1,100
crore.
Future Group holds 74% stake in the Future Generali India Insurance Company and
rest 26% is held by the Italy based Generali Group.
Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Anil
Ambani's led Reliance Capital on Monday announced the launch of 'Online Term',
an online life insurance plan at an affordable premium.
In a company release issued in Mumbai, Reliance Life Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Anup Rau said, “Online Term is a simple life protection product that is
based on - adequate cover and people should be able to buy it with ease. Our
new offering empowers customers to make an informed choice vis-a-vis their
liabilities and protect their family's financial future at a minimal
cost."
With the launch of this plan, we aim to provide the most affordable online term
life insurance plan, he added.
A man of 25-years old (non-smoker) can buy this plan with sum insured of Rs 1
crore for just paying an annual premium of about Rs 5400 for the term of 15
years. However, Online Term plan comes with a minimum annual premium of
Rs.3,500.
The minimum age to enter into this plan is 18 years and the maximum age is 55
years with a minimum policy term of 10 years and a maximum of 35 years. The
maximum maturity age is 75 years.
Online Term begins with a minimum cover of Rs.25 lacs and provides relatively
lower premium rates for women and non-tobacco users.
