Kotak Life says four Ulips in offing

Private sector insurer Kotak Life Insurance has four unit-linked products in the pipeline and is expecting to collect up to an 8 per cent premium from its on-line offerings in the next 18 months, a top executive said.

"We had filed for four unil-linked insurance products (Ulips) with the regulator (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), of which one got approval Wednesday," Kotak Life Insurance Chief Operating Officer G Murlidhar said.

The firm currently has two Ulips in its portfolio.

After the Irda circular (new norms for Ulips ) was issued and came into force from September 1, business in October was just 50 per cent of normal, as there were just two products in this category, he added. "We did not have enough products to sell."

The normal business is close to Rs 100 crore, Murlidhar said. While not providing any projections on overall growth in new business, he said: "It will be better than last year."

Till date, the growth is close to 30 per cent in new business, he said.

Till September, the total premium collection was Rs 1,292.52 crore, of which Rs 537.72 crore was from the total new business, according to data provided by the company.