Bajaj Allianz Life launches journal on bancassurance

To strengthen the emerging bancassurance sector in the country Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has launched a quarterly magazine Bancassurance Vantage. The inaugural issue of magazine was released in New Delhi by N Kantha Kumar, chairman and managing director, Syndicate Bank.

This newsletter identifies emerging trends, offers views from experts and regulatory and industry developments in the Indian bancassurance sector. Bancassurance, the combination of banking and insurance has emerged as the most important development in insurance, post liberalisation of the sector in India. Bancassurance has become a fully integrated solution that enables the bank to present customers with relevant products from a 'seamless menu' covering all their financial needs - banking, insurance and investments.

Bancassurance is also the fastest-growing channel in the insurance sector and contributes over 20 per cent of the new business generated by the private sector life insurers. It is expected to grow even faster as only between 3,000 and 4,000 branches out of over 60,000 branches offeer these insurance and investment products

Mukul Gupta, CFO and head bancassurance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said, "The genesis of this newsletter is to create a common platform for all of us - insurance players, banks and other stakeholders - to share emerging trends, key learning of successful models and the recent happenings in the growing bancassurance industry."

The development of bancassurance has led to many success stories across all sectors - foreign, private and nationalised banks. Those banks, which have taken the lead in identifying bancassurance in its early stage, are now exploiting the twin benefits of deeper customer relationships and an enhanced fee-income for the bank. With even co-operative banks having begun to participate in the bancassurance initiative, the reach of insurance in semi-urban and rural areas is expected to widen insurance access down to the 'mass base', since banks are far ahead in distribution reach, being present in virtually every nook and corner of the country.