Canara HSBC OBC Life net up 22%

This is the only life insurance company to have 100% bancassurance model and do not have any insurance agents

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has posted 22 per cent growth in net profit for 2015-16.

Net profit stood at Rs 126 crore in FY16 against Rs 103 crore in FY15. The new business premiums of the company was up 35 per cent against the previous year.

Anuj Mathur, CEO and whole-time director, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance, said retail was the major focus for the company and they have been able to get healthy premium growth due to the bank partners.

This is the only life insurance company to have a 100 per cent bancassurance model, not have insurance agents and solely sell through the banks concerned.

Canara HSBC OBC Life's bank partners are not planning to enter newer tie-ups, said Mathur. The insurer was in talks with additional banks to enter possible agreements to sell insurance policies in those bank branches. “Our bank partners (Canara Bank, HSBC and Oriental Bank of Commerce) believe that at present it is better to have one insurer’s product than those of multiple insurers,” he added. The insurer saw 53 per cent growth in retail on gross written premium (GWP) from the previous financial year.

Mathur said they were expanding their footprint in the digital space. The company would launch i-Ulip (unit linked insurance plan) product, which is awaiting regulatory approval.

Further, the insurance company is also planning to launch a pension product in the unit linked insurance plan space.

Currently, though the product mix is 70-30 for unit linked insurance plan and traditional products in the company, Mathur said this would undergo a change in this financial year as they were planning to launch two more traditional products soon.