Om Kotak To Double Product Portfolio

OM Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance is planning to double its product portfolio by the end of the current financial year. The company, which kicked off its business in New Delhi on Monday, has three products at present.

"We will developing the products and will have anywhere between six and eight products by the end of the year, which will come with a number of riders," OM Kotak Mahindra managing director Shivaji Dam said.

The company will soon approach Insurance Regulatory Development Authority to seek a permission to launch the products.

Speaking on the launch strategy for the company, Dam said that by the end of the year, OM Kotak Mahindra will be present in about a dozen cities. Delhi is the second city, after Mumbai, where the company has started operations.

The company is slated to commence business in Bangalore within June and is planning to add Kolkata and Pune to the list by the end of next month. Life insurance products will also be launched in some cities of Gujarat.

Dam, however, ruled out the possibility of the company raising its equity from the present Rs 101 crore in the immediate future. "This is sufficient to take care of our business in the next couple of years," he said.

OM Kotak Mahindra, which is a 74:26 joint venture between Old Mutual and Kotak Mahindra, is expected to break even by the end of the seventh year of operations, Dam said.

The three products _ endowment plan, a moneyback plan and an insurance bond _ have additional features of term cover and accident benefits.

"We have tried to bring in some novelty in some of the products by bringing in the concept of accumulation account, helping the policyholders to track their investments on an annual basis," Dam said.

The company also offers "non-forfeiture clause" where the policy remains in force even if the policyholder is unable to pay the premium till there is a balance in the accumulation account to cover the mortality expenses, he said.