Peerless, Iffco Tokio In Co-Branding Alliance

Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Ltd (PGFICL) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Iffco Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd (ITGIC), a joint venture between Indian Farmer Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (Iffco) for jointly developing co-branded, innovative financial products.

While Peerless will provide the marketing network for ITGIC, it will provide the expertise in developing general saving product with in-built insurance benefits.

"The new initiative for jointly developing co-branded and innovative products is consistent with the forward plan of PGFICL to emerge as the country's largest financial super market, in the private sector, for retail distribution of all kinds of financial products under one umbrella," explained, the managing director S K Roy.

At a later stage, Peerless would act as the corporate agency for ITGIC once the agency norms are passed by the parliament.ITGIC is already working on new financial products that will be a blend of small savings component from PGFICL and general insurance components.

The chairman of PGFICL, D N Ghosh, said he expects to launch its first hybrid product in another two month."Consumers will have the option of choosing from wide range of attractive products, each combining within itself multiple benefits and facilities. The marketability of our products as a result will also increase", Ghosh said.

Meanwhile for ITGIC, Peerless' wide network of agents will enable it to market its non-life as well as life products through out the country.Speaking at a press-conference organised to declare the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Ghosh said that Peerless expects to register a 20 per cent growth this fiscal over Rs 465 crore of deposit mobilised in the last fiscal.

Peerless has recently signed a MoU with HDFC Bank for marketing non-life products. While HDFC will provide it with non-life insurance products, IFFCI-Tokio will allow it to gain expertise in the life business.

While, Peerless is still to roll out a product in collaboration with HDFC, S K Roy, said that with the two MoUs signed our product offering in the insurance sector will be a complete one.