Irda’s plan to advertise insurance products through post offices hits barrier
Thelife insurance wing of India’s postal service has objected to the insurance regulator’s move to allow post offices to vend the policies of other insurers.India Post’s life insurance section says since the postal department has its own life cover schemes, it should not sell the policies of other insurers.”We have the largest network on which otherinsurance companies want to ride,” an official of the directorate of the postal life insurance (PLI) said on situation of inscrutability. “We have our own insurance scheme. Then why should we sell policies of other insurance companies and lose our advantage?”The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) in October allowed each postal region of India Post to function as an insurance agent. Each such circle was allowed to sell policies of two general insurance firms, two life insurers, one agricultural insurance company and one stand-alone health insurer.Some priv hr support for small business ate insurance firms have found it difficult to expand their distribution networks. The regulator’s move to have post offices act as agents would have worked in the larger interests of financial inclusion, according to Irda.To be sure, since selling financial products is a good way to generate income, the postal department is reluctant to let go of this income-earning segment despite objections from its insurance wing.It was India Post that had asked for such an arrangement, said an Irda official. “Earlier, they were allowed to sell policies of only one insurance company,” he said, requesting anonymity. “We permitted each circle to sell policies of two life and general insurers and one health insurer.”Postal life insurance, initially meant for postal employees, was later extended to other government employees. In 1995, it was extended to rural areas.There were more than 4.4 million postal life insurance policies and 9.
No Responses to “Irda’s plan to advertise insurance products through post offices hits barrier”