Mr Praful Shah is an quintessential old world father and son insurance agents of the type you find in Mumbai, serving fathers and sons and son’s sons with the confidence that they know what the client needs so well that the relationship grows from generation to generation. Because Mr Praful Shah’s father started in this profession, and his son is now successfully helping him.

K S Sashikumar Sashikumar, , Development Officer, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Royapettah Branch, Chennai says: When two powerful regulators fight, it’s the insurance field force that gets caught in the crossfire. The SEBI vs IRDA fight is creating apprehension and uneasiness among the insurance field force.

Mr V B Mohan Mohan, ,, , Development Officer, LIC of India, Secunderabad writes that there is a need for partnership and not competition in regulating ULIPs and that there is scope for ULIPs to serve their purpose if some basic changes are effected.

Insurance in an Island Amid the lush green of the jungle, abright red Maruti Swift flashes by emblazoned with graphics advertising popular Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) schemes like ‘Bima Gold.’ On a holiday to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, I was in one of the white Tata Sumos, that was part of a [...]

SEBI vs IRDA The Turf War over ULIPs In January, when Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sent show cause notices to Life insurance companies demanding to know how they launched unit linked insurance policies without its approval, the insurance industry was totally taken aback. SEBI’s stand was that ULIPs were collective investment schemes and [...]

An old year has ended and a new year has begun. Milestones 2009 recaptures the mood of the insurance industry at the close of the year 2008 and beginning of the year 2009.
Every month it goes on to highlight the stories of each issue that best summed up the state of the industry. In conclusion the story of the Year is told through Numbers.

While the National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of India (NFIFWI) is willing to support the cause of financial literacy in the country, they are opposed to the withdrawal of agents’ commission. They have met Mr D Swarup, Chairman, and handed over a memorandum outlining the reasons for their protest.

Our Role Model Mr A Suriyanarayanan confides that working smartly by understanding the clients’ needs and offering an intelligent portfolio leads to successful. Being courteous and knowing him is important before you even broach the topic of
selling insurance to him.

Mr K S Sashikumar, Development Officer, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Royapettah, Chennai, writes why expert advice may not always work. This is true
in the case of Term plans in spite of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) reducing the solvency margin requirements for term policies, their sale has not picked up.

This issue contains the second edition of Premium’s Special Annual Statistics Poster. The figures and charts for the Life and General insurance industries are for the period 2004-05 to 2008-09. This month’s interview is with Mr Gaurav Garg, Managing Director and CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance Company.