Kolkata: The appetite for unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) seemed to have caught on in the Middle East. State-run Life Insurance Corp will retail Ulips through its subsidiary LIC International. The plan, fortune builder, will be sold across the Gulf. Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, CEO and managing director, LIC International, told DNA Money, “Our target is to sell 15,000 Ulips in the current year. The total premium from all plans, including Ulips, is likely to be around $80 million this year.”
The Gulf countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar - are home to almost 5 million expatriate Indians. The insurer retails around 19 policies, mostly traditional, in these markets.
LIC had also recently tied up with Doha Bank, which will market the firm’s insurance products globally. These new ventures could boost LIC’s premium income from overseas operations, which has not been very forthcoming in recent years.
The company has gone on record about increasing overseas presence. LIC is also planning to open offices in Southeast Asia and the US through the subsidiary and is weighing broking arrangements in Southeast Asia. LIC also operates a separate company in Saudi Arabia for selling co-operative insurance.
Source: Nandini Goswami
Daily News & Analysis
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