New Delhi, Mar 04: The UK-based life insurance company Friends Provident will more than double its staff in India to 400 by the end of this year. It already has a 150-member back-office processing operation in India. Friends provident, which claims to be among the top ten companies in the UK life insurance and pensions market, is aiming to get an increasing share of the term life insurance market. It said smoothed operating profits fell to 266 million pounds against 305 million pounds in 2002, although sales improved.
Pre-tax profits stood at 282 million pounds compared with a 738 million pounds loss in 2002. Chief executive Keith Satchell said Friends was the first life insurer to present a realistic balance sheet in compliance with new financial services authority rules.
Bureau Report