ING Vysya to open 10 more branches in Orissa

"We have sought the approval of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) for opening these branches in Orissa by the end of 2008", Syed Sarfraz Ahmed, regional vice-president, ING Vysya Life said.

Ahmed, who was here to launch ING term life and ING term life plus products in Orissa said, these branches will be opened in two phases after getting the required regulatory approval. The company, at present,  has 8 branches in cities like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur.

As part of its expansion plan, the company intends to increase the agent strength in the state. It plans to recruit 4000 more agents to take the total agent strength to 6000 in Orissa.

Apart from Orissa, ING Vysya Life plans to add 20 more branches in other eastern states like West Bengal, Jharkahand and Assam. These include 8 branches in West Bengal, 4 branches in Jharkhand and 2 branches in Assam.

Stating that there is vast opportunity for growth in Orissa, Ahmed said, the company will increasingly focus on better customer care to expand its business in the state.

Regarding the two new life style products launched by the company in Orissa, he said, these term life policies are meant to provide financial security to the customer's family in case of the untimely death of policy holders.

ING term life provides the risk cover for life and ING term life plus offers return of premium half way through the policy terms and at the maturity. Both the products offer high non-medical limits, rider options including the accidental death benefits, accidental death disability and dismemberment benefits.

While the company gets about Rs 4 crore new premium per month in Orissa, it expects the share of the term plans to be about 30-40 percent. The company is present in about 231 cities and has 265 branch offices with over 367 sales teams.