New Delhi, Aug 05: The new-age insurer Tata AIG life insurance company today reported an over three-fold increase in premium income at Rs 70.9 crore with sum assured ticking Rs 5,321 crore during 2002-03 mainly due to substantial growth in individual life insurance policies. The premium income earned rose by 236 per cent from Rs 21.07 crore in 2001-02 with individual life insurance policies contributing Rs 61.37 crore or about 87 per cent of the total premium income, a Tata AIG release said here.

The sum assured stood at Rs 1,570 crore in 2001-02, the company said, adding that it had sold 91,500 individual life policies in 2002-03 as compared to 35,136 policies in the previous year.

Individual life insurance policies included 'Mahalife', a whole-life policy guaranteeing annual payment of 5.0 per cent of the sum assured and 'Nirvana', a pension product that caters to individual's retirement planning needs. The company said that it had settled 415 claims though the amount was not specified.

The 74:26 joint venture of Tata Group and the US-based AIG Inc had opened branches in Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Trichi, Vijayawada, Mangalore and Guwahati as part of its plan to penetrate deep into the Indian shores and added another 8,000 agents in its salesforce.

Tata AIG is planning to enter six more cities soon.

Moreover, the company had banked on Bancassurance mode by entering into agreement with HSBC, Golden Trust Financial Services in Kolkata, PSS and Muthoot group in Kerala.

Bureau Report