United India Insurance to appoint biz correspondents to expand rural reach

United India Insurance plans to directly appoint business correspondents as micro-agents to deliver insurance products to rural people, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr G. Srinivasan, has said.

This is one of the two options available to the company to expand its rural reach through the business correspondent model. The other is to tap the existing business correspondents of banks with which United India already has bancassurance arrangements, he said.

Mr Srinivasan said the company would use both these options and would soon approach the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for the requisite regulatory nod.

More product launches

United India also plans to launch more micro-insurance products this year. The company would, in the next few days, file products with the insurance regulator for its approval. Mr Srinivasan said he saw micro-insurance products aimed at rural people as a “tool for insurance-inclusion”.

The company also plans to visit schools to raise insurance literacy. Teaching capsules will be prepared for this purpose, he said.

Meanwhile, United India Insurance is on course to achieving the targeted premium income of Rs 8,000 crore for the current fiscal. This company had recorded premium income of Rs 6,400 crore in 2010-11.

krsrivats@thehindu.co.in