Page 12 - Insurance Times July 2016
P. 12
Private Life Insurance
IRDAI wants life insurers to list shares on stock ex- Reliance Life Insurance
CEO Anup Rau quits
changes
Reliance Life Insurance's chief execu-
The Insurance Regulatory and Devel- (Issuance of Capital by Indian Insur- tive of three years,
opment Authority (IRDAI) wants life in- ance Companies transacting Life Insur- Anup Rau has quit
surers to mandatorily list shares on the ance Business) Regulations, 2015 which the company, said
stock exchanges while the three people famil-
industry has said that pro- contains the extant provi- iar with the devel-
moters should be allowed sions for issuance of capital opment.
flexibility in capital man- by life insurers. "We be-
agement. In a recent meet- lieve that capital manage- Rau's exit from the company comes
ing with CEOs, the regula- ment is the prerogative of after it posted a Rs 200 crore loss for
tor asked insurers to com- promoters and they may fiscal year 2016 and a possible dispute
pulsorily evaluate listing in order to im- be provided the flexibility over priorities of the company as com-
prove corporate governance. in this regard," Life Insurance Council, petition cripples growth, they added.
the representative body of life insur-
The industry, however, suggested that ance companies said in its response to "Anup Rau has put in his papers that
not more than three-four companies the regulator. he quits due to differences over busi-
are in a position to evaluate listing ness goals with the management,"
since growth in new business and prof- With mandatory listing, IRDAI wants said one of the people cited above.
itability remains a challenge. to improve transparency, governance "Rau's focus was on improving re-
and disclosure to improve public and serves and persistency."
IRDAI had last year issued the IRDAI customer perception.
The company declined to comment
Mahendra Singh Dhoni selected as brand ambassador about the issue and Anup Rau did
of Exide Life not respond to calls and messages.
Exide Life Insurance has announced celebrated cricketers, and the most Indian life insurers are getting
India cricket team captain Mahendra successful captain of the Indian team squeezed by competition from HDFC
Singh Dhoni as its brand am- Life, Max, and Prudential who have
bassador. Dhoni, who repre- and we are extremely excited turned aggressive after the govern-
sents the aspirations of mil- to be associated with him. ment increased foreign direct invest-
lions, has a strong mass ap- ment to 49% from 26%.
peal and following compared Speaking about his partner-
to any other sporting icon in ship with Exide Life, Dhoni Reliance Life's persistency, the propor-
India, Exide Life Insurance said, "This is my first endorse- tion of policies that are kept alive, rose
said in a statement. ment deal in the insurance to 60% from 57% a year earlier. Yet
category. It helps Indians pre- another reason for the loss has also
Dhoni has appeal that cuts across ge- pare financially for their long and happy been a fall in income from unclaimed
ography, gender and age groups, it life. Long term relationships build trust premium lying with the company.
said, adding, he is one of India's most and I have always planned for the long
term in all aspects of my life”.
12 The Insurance Times, July 2016
