Star Union Dai Ichi Life Insurance company

BANKING /INSURANCE

Star Union Dai Ichi Life Insurance registers 23% growth in Retail Business amidst challenging market 

conditions in FY 2013-14

Star Union Dai Ichi Life Insurance company (SUD Life) - a joint venture between India's two leading public sector Banks and Dai-ichi Life of Japan has reported a 23.3 % growth in its retail Business on Annualised Basis which is a standard norm of measuring Insurance performance. The company has recorded INR 339 crores of Annualised Premium in 2013-14 compared to INR 275 crores in 2012-13.

This places SUD Life among very few Indian Life Insurers which have seen 20%+ growth in their Retail business despite of slowdown in Life Insurance Industry with retail business showing a negative growth of 3.4%. Renewal premium income of the company also grew by 18.2% during the year.

Commenting on the performance of the company, Mr. Girish Kulkarni, Managing Director & CEO of SUD Life said, "It was a year full of challenges. We are happy that SUD Life team could deliver growth during such tough times. This was possible due to our focus on basics and galvanising our efforts to increase branch productivity on core attributes of long term savings and protection. We also intend to strengthen our multi-channel aspiration further by taking our Agency network to 10000 in FY 2014-15".

SUD Life also added one more feather to its cap.  In the recently concluded India Insurance Awards 2014 organized by Fintelekt, SUD Life bagged the ‘Bancassurance Leader of the Year’ award for its performance in bancassurance.

SUD Life's claim settlement ratio also remained at 96.8% which is among the highest reported during 2013-14. The claim repudiation also stands at a low of 2.8% for the year.

"Market conduct parameters are extremely important for us while creating scale and visibility. We remain sensitive to customer aspirations and respond in the fair and best possible manner. Our products in the new product regime are also aligned with this philosophy and are simple and relevant to life cycle needs of the middle class consumer" added Mr. Kulkarni.

Currently SUD Life has a product portfolio of 8 Individual and 4 Group Insurance products. It intends to stabilise its multichannel model in the current fiscal. It has 6000+ agents spread across 60+ locations and has produced about 20 crores in its first full-scale pan-India operation.  ''Our aim is to improve on all parameters to ensure that we create a sustainable and profitable franchise. While we continue to grow, we are also ensuring that we remain cost effective and keep our operational expenses at the desirable level. Despite of all growth and new channel initiatives our focus on cost containment remains intact" said Mr Kulkarni.

About Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (SUD Life) is a joint venture (JV) of Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Dai-ichi Life, a leading life insurance company of Japan. Bank of India and Union Bank are leading Indian public sector banks and have a robust nationwide network of more than 7800 branches that cater to more than 64 million customers.  Bank of India and Union Bank have sponsored select Regional Rural Banks, which provide SUD Life access to more than 1564 branches that make life insurance products available in rural areas.

Dai-ichi Life is the second largest life insurance company of Japan and is one of the top ten life insurers in the world. Dai-ichi Life was established in 1902 and is a recognized brand name across the globe.  Dai-ichi Life is renowned for sound product knowledge, superior asset management skills, and strong operational capabilities to manage life insurance businesses globally.

SUD Life is committed to providing insurance products across various stratas of society and geographies as per the needs of the customer. At SUD Life, the customer commands topmost priority.