|
Top News
|
|
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to play leading role in pension market
|
Mumbai - September 7, 2002
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, the No. 1 private life insurer in the country, has emerged as a key player in the retirement solutions market, garnering over 25 per cent of premium contributions to pension plans during April-June 2002.
The company's penetration of the retirement market was driven by the launch of a slew of retirement products
and a focused approach towards driving awareness of the category and expanding the market. ICICI
Prudential entered the retirement space with the launch of ForeverLife and ReAssure just one year ago.
It subsequently launched the unit-linked pension plans - LifeTime Pension and LifeLink Pension in April this year.
According to Ms Shikha Sharma, Managing Director, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, "Increasing
longevity, lower working tenures and an increasing dependency ratio are some of the factors that make
retirement planning a must for everyone in this country. We recognized this need and decided to focus
our efforts on educating consumers about the need for retirement planning, and then meeting the need with a
range of products. We've complemented this effort with extensive and specific training for our advisors, and
also held seminars for consumers on the topic of life insurance and retirement planning, which were met with
an encouraging response".
"The comprehensive regulations laid down by IRDA for life insurers operating in the pension space have also
been instrumental in driving category growth. In fact, life insurers are a natural fit for pensions market as
they have the expertise in managing long-term savings, which is critical for any pension operator", Ms Sharma
added.
There are some trends that testify to the importance of retirement planning. Nearly 90% of the working population does not have any formal provision for old age, so the retirement planning category becomes relevant to a wide section of the population. With a sharp improvement in life expectancy rates, individuals are expected to live longer, but work for a shorter fraction of their lives. With age, come health-related expenses, which are highly inflationary and must be provided for. And with the overall costs of living continuing to rise, its essential to plan for a steady income stream post-retirement.
The company's retirement solutions are designed according to the varied needs of consumers. "Our product bouquet serves the appetite of both risk-taking and risk-averse categories of consumers along with life protection, and most importantly, a regular income guaranteed for life", Ms Sharma said.
The earlier one begins planning for one's retirement, the greater the benefits, as a kitty is accumulated over a longer period of time. In fact, contributions to pensions with life insurance companies for the quarter April-June 2002 amounted to approximately Rs 30 crore, which indicates a growing preference to save for retirement through life insurers.
Given the importance of the category, ICICI Prudential has launched a major advertising campaign to raise consumer awareness about retirement planning and of the products it offers. This campaign, with the tagline 'Retire from work, not life' spans television, print, outdoor and internet, and is amongst the first insurance companies to promote a specific category through television.
ICICI Prudential has sold more than 150,000 policies as of June 30, 2002 with a sum assured in excess of Rs
4,100 crore and a premium income of over Rs 165 crore.
Press Release by: Sampark Public Relations Pvt. Ltd
|
|
Clickz..
Asuku.com
Talk about Everything and Anything...
AndhraNews.com
The Andhra Pradesh Discussion Forum
ElectionsInfo.com
Coverage on Elections round the World
|
