ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company : ICICI Prudential Life to expand equity

Hyderabad: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, the 74:26 joint venture between ICICI and the UK-based Prudential Plc, proposes to expand its equity-base from the current level of Rs 150 crore.

Launching a new life product, ICICI Pru Smart Kid, here on 25 February, ICICI Prudential Life managing director Shikha Sharma said the insurance joint venture will pump in fresh equity to the tune of Rs 80 crore in phases. "While Rs 40 crore of funds will be infused by the end of the current fiscal year, the balance will be brought in during the first half of the next fiscal."

"This will take the total equity of ICICI Prudential Life from Rs 150 crore to Rs 230 crore. Both the partners will bring in fresh equity, maintaining their holdings at 74:26," she said. Stating that the company has garnered a substantial market-share in the last 14 months of its operations, Sharma said it may take anywhere between five to seven years for the company to break even given the nature of the life insurance business. "Losses are part of the business in the initial phase."

While declining to throw light on the exact market-share of the company at present, Sharma said: "Our understanding is that we have a market-share of around 40 to 50 per cent. But we are currently not in a position to give the exact figures that support the claim."