Om Kotak Eyes Rs 15 Crore Business In Kolkata

Om Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance (OKMLI), which launched its operations in Kolkata today, expects to generate business worth Rs 15 crore by selling 30,000 policies in its first year of operations on an assured sum of Rs 300 crore.

Currently OKMLI has three insurance products and, over the next few months, it plans to add three more products, namely unit-linked product, term products, critical illness products.

OKMLI managing director, Shivaji Dam, said: "We will have a total of 13 offices in the first phase of expansion by September 2001. This will be followed by eight more offices."

Baroda, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chennai are the next destinations where the company will set up offices.

The company is also concentrating on developing alternate channels -- comprising bank, financial services and other corporates -- to sell its products, subject to norms from the regulatory authority.

OKMLI already has 250 agents on its rolls and it will increase the number to 500 by August 2001.

In the second year of operations, with an expanded operational network, the company aims at achieving a 300 per cent growth.

"After having made our presence felt in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, we now bring to consumers in Kolkata the opportunity to avail of our products. We have new offerings along with the concept of accumulation account, helping policy holders track their investments on annual basis. We have also introduced the concept of automatic non forfeiture, which allows continuity of the life cover as long as there are funds in the accumulation account even in case of non payment of premium," explained Dam.

"We believe OM Endowment Plan, OM Moneyback Plan and OM Insurance Bond, along with the riders, offer the customer a wide range of policies," chief marketing officer, OKMLI, Treman Ahluwalia, said.

Thrust at OM Kotak is on proper and adequate training to life advisors. Appropriate training, say company officials, will provide OKMLI an edge over its competitors.

OM Kotak Mahindra is a 74:26 joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Finance and Old Mutual Plc, a UK-based financial group company. The total paid up equity of the company is Rs 101 crore.