Bandhan Life Partners with Bank for Insurance Growth

Kolkata, Sep 26 (PTI) In a bid to focus on new business after acquiring Aegon Life early this year and undergoing a renaming exercise, Bandhan Life Insurance on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with Bandhan Bank to distribute life insurance products through its extensive network of 1,700 branches.

Bandhan Life stated it has plans to rope in more banks on board in the near future to strengthen its bancassurance distribution channel.

"Initially, we are focusing on Bandhan Bank to distribute our insurance products as we shift our focus to new business. We aim to partner with 2-3 more banks and explore other multi-channel distribution strategies in due course," Bandhan Life MD & CEO Satishwar B said.

He added that while Aegon Life's legacy business was primarily acquired online, Bandhan Life will focus on building offline distribution channels to drive growth.

Initially, around 550 bank branches will distribute two new life insurance products tailored for Bandhan Bank customers, the company has plans to expand distribution to all 1,700 branches by the end of the year.

"In the first year of operations under Bandhan Life, we expect to generate Rs 300 crore in new premium business. Our current assets under management stand at Rs 4,500 crore, and our annual renewal premium is also around Rs 300 crore," the CEO said.

Officials claimed that Bandhan Life may take 4-5 years to achieve full-year profitability.

Bandhan Life is also working on launching insurance savings products targeting microfinance customers of Bandhan Bank.

"We will have to reduce the ticket size and tailor the product to suit microfinance customers. The product is still in development," officials said.

Bandhan Bank has over 4,000 small service centers that support its branches, and the insurance savings products aimed at microfinance customers will be distributed through this network, an official added.

Meanwhile, Bandhan Life announced plans to expand its presence to around 20 offices across the country within a year, up from its current two offices in Mumbai and Kolkata.