Aegon Religare Life Insurance, one of the younger Indian life

insurance companies that started operations in July 2008, has

already bagged 50,000 customers. In an interview, Rajiv Jamkehdkar, chief executive officer, Aegon Religare, told Dipak Mondal and Sarbajeet K Sen that the insurer plans to expand its distribution channels by tying up with a large bank for bancassurance. Excerpts:

In just over one-and-half years of the existence the company, Aegon Religare has already seen a few rounds of capital infusion. Is that an indicator of the pace of business growth?

Yes, our business has been growing at a robust pace. We already have 50,000 customers and expect premium collection to be

Rs 210 crore by the end of this financial year. All this capital is going into building distribution channels and infrastructure.

What are the new categories of the products you are planning to launch in the coming days?

We already have a wide offering of products in most categories. We are working on some new products but till we finalise everything, I will not be in a position to disclose the details.

Recently, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has allowed life insurance companies to launch life-health combination products in tie-ups with health insurance companies. Do you have any plans to launch such products?

We are looking for a new health plan and an annuity product. The health plan would be launched on our own. However, we are also looking at the option of having combi products in tie-up with a health provider, but nothing concrete has been finalised.

What distribution channels are you focusing on for selling your products?

We have a multi-channel approach. We have about 7,000 agents, who work on a commission basis and another 250 sales people on payroll. That is our direct sales channel. We also use the Religare network and other large distributors and brokers. So these are the four broad categories of channels through which we are selling our products.

Surprisingly, the bancassurance model does not find a place in the list. Do you have plans to tie up with banks in the future?

We surely have plans to enter bancassurance. But we believe in a step-by-step approach in building our channels. We are already in talks with two small district banks, but the formalities are yet to be complete. In addition to this, we are also in talks for tying up with larger banks also for distribution of our products. That should happen sometime in the next financial year (2010-11).

Surprisingly, the bancassurance model does not find a place in the list. That appears to the most favoured channel for most life insurers. Do you have plans to tie up with banks in the future?

We surely have plans to enter bancassurance. We are already in talks with two small district banks, but the formalities are yet to be complete. In addition to this, we are also in talks for tying up with larger banks also for distribution of our products. That should happen sometime in the next financial year (2010-11).

Which among the four existing distribution channels is getting you the maximum business?

Among the four channels, commission agents and Religare together bring maximum business for us. As far as direct sales are concerned, they certainly will have larger share in the overall distribution pie in the coming days, but given the expense constraints of an insurance company, this channel has limited growth possibilities.

Is the rural market a

viable business option?

We don’t have any big plans for the rural market as yet. However, we are conducting a pilot project in one district of Tamil Nadu and that is all we have so far for the rural market. We will wait and see how that shapes up to crystallise our plans for the future.