MNYL to invest Rs 880cr to set up 140 offices by 2008

New Delhi, Nov 28 (UNI) Aiming for a deeper penetration in the Indian insurance market especially in rural areas, Max New York Life (MNYL) today said it will set up 140 offices pan-India with an investment of about Rs 880 crore by the end of 2008.

The company plans to raise its capital expenditure to 1,500 crore, from the present Rs 1,000 crore for financial year 2007-2008, of which it has already pumped in Rs 620 crore.

''We have set aside Rs 1,000 crore for FY08, while discussions among the company Board members are on to raise it to Rs 1,500 crore by 2007-08 for ramping the number of offices to 255 from 115 presently,'' MNYL Chairman Analjit Singh told reporters here.

On the company's plans for rural India, Mr Singh said Punjab and Gujarat would be the first target to penetrate the huge and untapped rural market.

''NCR is going to the strongest market,'' remarked Mr Singh, adding that Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat were some of the cities close only to the NCR region.

Meanwhile, MNYL Managing Director and CEO Gary R Bennett said, ''It would be a challenge for the company since it is a highly untouched potential insurance market.'' The company CEO also said the company had plans to launch seven new products by next year, even as India is touted as the second largest market for NYL.

''With the insurance market growing at a fast pace, India is going to be the second largest market for NYL,'' NYL Chairman and CEO Sy Sternberg said.

Presently, the company has a wide distribution network with 115 offices and representatives across 81 cities in the country.

MNYL made its association with New York Life (NYL) in 2001, and holds a market share of 6.6 per cent, at present.

MNYL also a presence in the north eastern states with two offices -- one each in Guwahati and Siliguri.

The company sold over 1.2 million individual policies worth Rs 34,700 crore since its launch in 2001.

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