Shriram Life expects 5% growth

Over 90% life products sold by company are in traditional segment

Hyderabad-headquartered Shriram Life Insurance Company said it was hoping to grow 4-5 per cent in the current financial year on the back of higher premium collections it expects in the January-March quarter.

The company on Tuesday formally launched three new traditional products based on the new regulatory norms besides re-launching slightly modified unit-linked plans.

Shriram Life chief executive officer Manoj Kumar Jain said the expansion of branch network to 250 by adding 80 small size branches in the recent past  and the ongoing plan to open 50 more branches both in northern and the southern regions would hopefully result in higher premium collections this year.

“As of now we are growing at an industry average of plus or minus 1 per cent level. But we expect the additional growth to come in the fourth quarter,” he said.

On the traditional side, the company launched New Shri Life, an endowment product, New Akshay Nidhi, which offers money back facility at periodic intervals, and cash back term plan under which the company returns the premium paid by the customer on maturity. All of them will come up with optional top up plans, according to Jain.

Though over 90 per cent of the life products sold by the company are in the traditional segment, the it also had to launched four unit-linked plans keeping in mind a small fraction of customers who are aware of market related risks and the rewards, he said.

Shriram started business in 2006 and had so far covered 2.2 million lives with a total new business premium of Rs 2,385 crore with average ticket size of Rs 11,000 per premium, according to a statement.