"There is a large workforce working as agents for life insurance companies and other banking and financial products who require specialised training as financial advisers," ICICI Prudential AMC, head -- retail sales and distribution, Vikram Kaushal said. Of the estimated 68,000 financial advisers available in the country, almost 38,000 are working for ICICI Prudential, he said.
All the four listed private life insurance companies recorded a drop in value of new business (VNB) margin in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) as compared to FY23. This is because of a higher share of unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) in the product mix. VNB is a measure of the economic value of profits expected to emerge from a new business.
Mutual funds' largecap investment universe is expected to see seven changes in the upcoming stock reclassification exercise by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). According to a report by IIFL Securities, Hero MotoCorp, Zydus Lifesciences, JSW Energy, NHPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bosch and Samvardhana Motherson are expected to earn upgrades in the revised list of largecap, midcap and smallcap stocks set to be released in the first week of July. Amfi revises the list at the start of January and July every year based on the previous six-month performance of the stock.
The share of life insurance policies sold by top private insurers in the rural areas declined in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to previous year. SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance -- the top three players from the private sector-- have seen the share of insurance policies sold in rural areas drop in FY24 as compared to the previous financial year. Max Life Insurance's share of rural policies recorded an increase in FY24.
Visa and 20 insurance companies in India have joined forces to make paying life and general insurance premiums "faster and easier" through a range of new payment options for Visa cardholders
Some of the key names include: Maruti, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Britannia, Ultratech, JK Cement, Havells, Voltas, Amber, Metro, Trent, LemonTree, Indian Hotels, Niva Bupa, HDFC Life, IGL, Acme Solar, Suzlon, Swiggy, Delhivery, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Private life insurers experienced reasonable growth in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), and the October data is also encouraging. The individual weighted received premium (WRP) for private players grew by 19.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in October. However, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had slower growth, pulling the industry growth rate down to 13 per cent Y-o-Y.
High-value insurance policies experienced muted growth in the first six months of the current financial year after the Centre decided to tax such products in this year's Budget. Simultaneously, there has been a marked improvement in the growth of policies with premiums of 'less than Rs 5 lakh', mainly originating from smaller cities. During this year's Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed that insurance policies (excluding unit linked insurance plans or ULIPs) with an aggregate premium exceeding Rs 5 lakh, and the maturity amount, would not be exempt from tax.
Regulator Irdai on Friday directed SBI Life Insurance Company to takeover the policy liabilities of around two lakh policies along with assets of Sahara India Life Insurance Co Ltd (SILIC) with immediate effect. The decision was taken at the meeting of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) in view of deteriorating financial health of the SILIC. "The Authority has identified SBI Life Insurance Company Limited (SBI Life), which is one of the largest life insurers in the country with satisfactory financials, as the acquirer insurer of the life insurance business of SlLIC.
Private sector market leader ICICI Prudential has reported just a 20 per cent rise in new retail business weighted premiums during March, 2008, and a 40 per cent rise for the quarter ended March 2008. That has dragged down ICICI Prudential's growth for 2007-08 to below 70 per cent. The average for the first 11 months was 80 per cent.
Private players continued to show strong momentum in the life insurance individual new business segment during August, 2023. On an aggregate, the industry registered 14 per cent growth year-on-year (Y-o-Y) compared to 15 per cent in July '23. Private players were up 21 per cent Y-o-Y, up from 16 per cent Y-o-Y in July '23, while public insurers' growth was muted at 3 per cent.
ICICI Bank was looking at valuing ICICI Holdings at $10 billion, sources said. Vishaka Muley, chief financial officer of the group, refused to comment on the development.
A month down the line, you may be holding insurance policies in electronic form. According to sector experts, the regulator is in the last lap of checking repositories' preparedness and infrastructure, and is likely to allot licences by May-end or early June.
HDFC Life, which posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 281.83 crore (Rs 2.81 billion) for the quarter ended June compared with Rs 11.92 crore (Rs 119.2 million) in corresponding period last year (according to HDFC's first quarter results), has diversified its distribution mix.
Private sector lender Axis Bank on Monday said its board has recommended the appointment of Shikha Sharma, currently chief of ICICI group's life insurance business, as its next managing director and CEO.
V Vaidyanathan joins a growing list of top executives getting a sumptuous sign-on bonus
To present revival plan to board; Naik meets PMO official.
Life insurers are aggressively targeting HNIs. A look at some of the products on offer.
'Investing in these funds makes sense if their net yield over better-quality funds -- corporate bond funds or banking and PSU funds -- is meaningful.'
Insurance companies reported nearly 23 per cent growth in first year premium in the first quarter of financial year 2024-25, when compared to the same period last year, with market leader LIC leading the charge with 28 per cent growth. According to the data released by the Life Insurance Council, the new business premium (NBP) increased by 22.91 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ~89,726.7 crore in Q1FY25 from ~73,004.87 crore in Q1 FY24, reflecting a robust demand for insurance policies in the country.
New India Assurance and Niva Bupa have invested in the Bima Sugam India Federation.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has expanded its health insurance portfolio to cover over 1,000 surgical procedures and hospitalisation.
In a career spanning over 29 years, Sharma has had a wide exposure across the entire spectrum of financial services and has held several leadership positions across various market-leading businesses, the bank said in a statement. Axis Bank is the third-largest private sector bank in India and its network spans across more than 840 offices and over 3,600 ATMs.
Vaidyanathan, former managing director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, as a sign-on bonus got 20 lakh (2 million) warrants worth Rs 47.40 crore (Rs 474 million), DNA said.
Vaidyanathan's compensation is 'a performance-linked booty'.
Executive Director V Vaidyanathan will assume the position of managing director and chief executive officer of the bank's life insurance arm, ICICI Prudential. This slot had fallen vacant as Shikha Sharma decided to move to Axis Bank.
It is understood in organisations across India that work will come to a near standstill during any India-Pakistan match. During the World Cup earlier this year, productivity dropped across ranks as employees trudged in half-asleep, having been up half the night watching matches. In contrast, Twenty-20 cricket eats up only three hours of productive time, compared to the usual 10.
'Markets are back in the 15000-16000 range, it's a barometer of confidence as much as it is of economic prospects.'
Leading private life insurers HDFC Standard Life, Bajaj Allianz and Birla Sun Life top the list of firms against whom consumers have filed complaints with sectoral regulator Irda for indulging in unfair business practices.
Midcap stocks Hero MotoCorp, Zydus Lifesciences, JSW Energy, NHPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bosch, and Samvardhana Motherson are expected to earn upgrades.
Private life insurers are expected to deliver decent growth in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (Q1FY24) on the back of stronger group business performance and easing supply-side constraints on individual protection. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), though, is likely to see a decline. Healthy 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) retail annual premium equivalent (APE) growth for private players, coupled with 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in LIC, will pull retail APE growth to a mere 3 per cent YoY in June 2023.
