SBI Life to up capital to Rs 500 cr

SBI Life will enter the micro-insurance segment this year and infuse a capital of Rs 100 crore to increase its paid-up capital to more than Rs 500 crore.

"We will invest Rs 100 crore after September this year to grow our paid-up capital to more than Rs 500 crore. Our aim is to grow our aggregate premium collections 2.5 times to reach Rs 2,500 crore by March next year as against the Rs 1,000 crore collected last year," SBI Life Managing Director and CEO S Krishnamurthy told PTI here.

"The company is in talks with few non-life insurance players... to enter the micro-insurance market as per Irda guidelines and is confident of starting the business in the next financial year," he added.

The company also plans to launch new ULIP-based pension schemes by September this year, besides new schemes for the Group Policy in the gratuity, pension and superannuation, he added.

It also launched the 'Group Swadhan' scheme, wherein a policy holder can pay premium for a period of 5-10 years and if no claim has been made, the premium is returned.

The scheme is mainly sold through SBI branches. Currently, SBI sells 43 per cent of its products through its bancassurance network and expects this channel to contribute 50 per cent of its sales this year.

The insurer also has covered around 36,000 lives through its tie-ups with around 3,300 self-help groups and collected Rs 209 lakh in premium. "We witnessed a 22 per cent policy sale in rural areas as against the targeted 18 per cent," said Krishnamurthy.