Bharti Axa plans expansion, eyes 5% mkt share in 3 yrs

Bharti AXA Life Insurance is targeting a five per cent market share by end-2012 and has charted out an aggressive road map for expansion, a top company official said.

"We plan to have a market share of five per cent by 2012 and have significant expansion plans," Bharti AXA Life Insurance Chief Financial Officer V Srinivasan told PTI here.

The overall life insurance market in terms of new business premium is worth Rs 45,000-50,000 crore.

At present, the company, which entered the Indian market in 2006, has one per cent market share with a total premium collection of Rs 543 crore as on August 31, 2009.

The company also plans to beef up its sales force to 45,000 from the present 30,000 by end-this fiscal, he said.

"Ours is the fastest growth story. Despite (the economic) slowdown, we have been able to grow faster than our competitors," he added.

Bharti AXA Life insurance is a joint venture company between India's leading conglomerate the Bharti Group and France-based financial protection and wealth management service provider AXA.

To increase its market penetration, the life insurer plans to leverage the reach of the Bharti Group, which has interests in retail, telecom and agriculture businesses with a significant retail footprint.

Bharti AXA Life has set-up virtual branches to distribute policies using the retail and telecom outlets of the Bharti Group, Srinivasan said.