Page 17 - Insurance Times December 2020

Despite the challenging macro-envi- experience in a predominantly remote decline over April-August 2020.
ronment affecting the new business work set-up, the insurer said in a state- Gradual revival in unit-linked insurance
adversely, we registered steady perfor- ment. With the addition, the total plans (ULIPs), increase in sales through
mance on many parameters and workforce strength rose to about agency channels and strong traction in
achieved double-digit growth in the 15,000. non-par savings segments are likely
renewal premium collection in the first drivers.
six months of the current financial Hiring was done across diverse verticals
year," Bharti AXA Life Insurance Man- such as agency, bancassurance, and Individual APE increased 14% y-o-y in
aging Director and Chief Executive Of- internal operations, it said. In the last October 2020 for private players while
ficer Parag Raja said. six months, Max Life has also group APE was up 24% y-o-y, translat-
proactively engaged with more than ing to 15% y-o-y growth in overall APE.
The company's assets under manage- 500 candidates digitally to create a On a sequential basis, this was up from
ment saw a strong growth amid the talent pool for future hiring, it added. 4% y-o-y in September 2020 from 7%
slowdown triggered by the COVID un- y-o-y decline over June-August 2020.
certainty, he added. With economic Reliance Nippon Life Insur-
activities picking up after easing of re- Even as protection growth has likely
strictions, the company is confident ance leases 40,000 sq ft at slowed down from peak levels (ratio of
about the business recovery and Adani Inspire in BKC individual non-single sum assured to
growth in the second half of this fiscal, individual non-single premium was
Raja said. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Reliance Nippon Life Insurance has broadly flat y-o-y at 31X; 41X for
said it plans to expand its distribution taken a 40,000 sq ft space on a five- 7MFY21 compared to 32X in 7MFY20),
footprints across the country and year lease at an Adani Realty project pick-up in ULIPs, traction in non-par
strengthen its multi-channel architec- in the BKC business district to house its savings and gradual revival in group
ture. Currently, it has 261 branches corporate headquarters, officials said. credit business (11% y-o-y growth in
and 36,526 advisors. "RNLI has signed up to have 40,000 sq group sum assured against 37% y-o-y
ft in Bandra Kurla Complex's (BKC) Adani decline in 7MFY21 and 30% y-o-y de-
The company is focusing on digital in- cline in September 2020) led to strong
novation within its distribution band- Inspire for five years," a source said. growth in overall APE. LIC's individual
width to meet the rising bar of higher "Corporate office relocations are a APE was up 6% y-o-y; overall APE was
service standards and growing cus- matter of long term commitment and up 7% y-o-y on the back of 9% y-o-y
tomer expectations, the release said. the recovered business sentiment re- growth in the group business.
Bharti AXA Life maintained business garding the value of life insurance prod-
momentum amid uncertainties by uct gives us the confidence to make HDFC Life reported 45% y-o-y increase
embracing new digital tools and capa- this decision. BKC is a prominent and in individual APE in October 2020 (up
bilities and enhanced experiences of centrally-located business district," 43% y-o-y in September 2020); indi-
customers, employees, partners and Vohra told. vidual sum assured was up 6% y-o-y (up
other stakeholders, it added. RNLI will be moving to the space from 4% y-o-y in September 2020 and 11%
yoy in 7MFY21) in October 2020. Over-
Max Life Insurance hires Reliance Centre in nearby Santacruz, all APE was up 47% (up 45% y-o-y in
whose possession has been taken over
2,000 executives via digital by Yes Bank for non-payment of loans. September 2020) on the back of strong
growth in the group business (group
medium during COVID-19 Life Insurance: Premium APE was up 60% y-o-y compared to
Max Life Insurance said it has hired collections of private life 55% in September 2020); credit life
over 2,000 executives during the first has likely picked up. Growth in indi-
half of this fiscal in midst of the COVID- insurers' up 15% vidual business was likely driven by
19 pandemic. Life insurers reported 14% year-on- strong traction in the flagship tradi-

By efficiently digitizing its recruitment year (y-o-y) growth in individual tional businesses. HDFC Life's strategy
and onboarding process, the life in- annualised premium equivalent (APE) to toggle between product classes has
helped it deliver better than industry.
surer has been able to deliver a seam- in October 2020 compared to 4% y-o-
less employee hiring and onboarding y in September 2020 and 6-40% y-o-y ICICI Prudential Life reported 22% y-o-
The Insurance Times, December 2020