The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : 16 crore policies: LIC's staggering reach

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 02, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

16 crore policies: LIC's staggering reach

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, SEPT. 1 . Every uninsured person in the country is a challenge, and it is essential to spread the message of insurance to the common man as it is the raison d'etre of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), R.R. Nair, Southern zonal manager said today.

Inaugurating the `Insurance Week' celebration coinciding with the 48th anniversary of the Corporation, he said that with over 16 crore policies issued, LIC now served more people than the total population of several countries. It is the largest nationalised life insurance agency in the world and has an excellent record when it comes to claims performance and use of information technology.

Anniversary

The southern zone had outperformed other zones in growth rate, target achievement and absolute volume. The zone had acquired new business premium of Rs.463.50 crores through 7.43 lakh policies with a growth rate of 176 per cent. Under the pension and group schemes, the zone had covered 1.32 lakh lives with Rs.267.60 crores of premium.

Delivering the keynote address, the Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, N. Ram, said nationalisation of life insurance business was a landmark in the economic history of the country. Had LIC not been established in 1956, the staggering scale of achievements might not have been possible.

Appreciating the soundness of LIC's mandate that reached out to millions in the rural areas, he said it had tremendous brand value, as the Corporation had won the people's trust with its quality service.

He commended the services provided by LIC, especially its social security schemes. In a country that lacked social security, the Corporation provided a vital service, especially to senior citizens. Mr. Ram also suggested that LIC could enter the health insurance sector as it was best equipped to face the competition from private and foreign players.

Mr. Nair told presspersons later that LIC had contributed Rs. 1,44, 803 crores in the first two years of the current five-year plan. Over Rs.16, 500 crores had been invested in the southern zone of which Rs. 10,265 crores had been given to Tamil Nadu.

In line with its vision become a global insurance company, LIC would implement the best practices followed in other countries. At present, it offered services such as on-line premium payments, Electronic Clearance service, Interactive Voice Response System, and Policy information through Kiosks for the benefit of policyholders, he said.

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