SBI Life to launch Health Insurance product: Roy

{image-sbi life_07062008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Bhubaneswar, Jun 07: SBI Life Insurance Company will launch a health insurance product in the country through State Bank Group branches in a couple of months, its Managing Director cum CEO U S Roy said.

Talking to newsmen here, Mr Roy said the new product christened as Critical Illness Product(CIP) would have two major components completely different from other health insurance schemes in the country. He said the CIP would be done on a simple good health declaration by the person and the money would be provided to the suffering customers directly and not to the hospital. Mr Roy said the SBI Life had already approached the Regulatory Authority adding that a communication in this regard would be expected so that the new product would be launched across the country within next two months.

The SBI Life CEO said the new health insurance product would have identified illness and money would be provided up to a certain limit to the insured person suffering from the identified diseases, including the treatment of cancer,heart ailment,diabetes and blood pressure.

Mr Roy said the market share of the SBI Life in the country has gone up from 3.4 per cent to 5.2 per cent by March 2008. The total premium of the company, a joint venture between the SBI and the BNP Assurance, the largest French Bank, is likely to touch Rs.10,000 crores by 2009.

He said this year new premium business of the company stood at Rs 4792 crore, almost registering a growth of 91 per cent which would touch Rs.8500 crores by 2009.

Mr Roy said the SBI Life has been offering insurance protection for loans in the event of permanent disability or death in case of the housing loan which would be now extended to even personal loan. He said a sudden death of principal bread winner jeopardized the future of the family specially among the economically weaker section adding that the micro-insurance policies offered by the SBI Life would help minimise the level of such security.

The SBI Life CEO said the DhanRakshya, a new credit life product launched in the beginning of the year, will be now sold through SBI branches acorss the country to rope in all the customers.

As on today only 50 per cent of the customers who have opted for housing loan have enrolled under the DhanRakshya ,Mr.Rao said adding that the SBI Life has launched a popularisation drive to ensure that all the loanees opted for such credit life product.

On the future expansion plan of the SBI Life,the CEO said at prsent the SBI Life was operating through 180 branches across the country which would be expanded to another 250 branches.The SBI Life had already moved the Regulatory body in this regard,he added.

This apart,steps were being initiated to increasse teh agency force for the SBI Life from the existing 40,000 to 80,000 by 2009 to cope with the growing business, Mr Roy said.

UNI