Siddartha Mohanty, MD & CEO, Life Insurance Corporation
`Our plans to get into health insurance have made progress. We are now at the final stage and hopeful that a decision will be taken before March 31. We have to also get regulatory approvals and that take time,” he said on the sidelines of the Global Conference of Actuaries in Mumbai on Tuesday
Earlier, there were market speculations that LIC was considering picking up stakes in stand alone health insurer Manipal Cigna Health Insurance
Mumbai: Life insurance behemoth LIC is getting ready to announce its foray into health insurance sector by picking up stake in a stand alone insurer soon, said Siddartha Mohanty, MD & CEO, Life Insurance Corporation.
“Our plans to get into health insurance by buying stake in a health insurance company are making progress. We are now at the final stage and hopeful that a decision will be taken before March 31. We have to also get regulatory approvals that take time, he said on the sidelines of the Global Conference of Actuaries in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Without disclosing any names of any health insurer, he reiterated that the corporation will not hold a majority stake in its new health venture and the exact quantum of the stake buy depends on factors like the decision of LIC board and valuations, he added.
Earlier, there were market speculations that LIC was considering picking up stakes in stand alone health insurer Manipal Cigna Health Insurance. However, both LIC and Manipal Cigna have not confirmed the development.
Mohanty also said the corporation is keen to invest in long term government securities to maintain proper asset-liability management and has requested RBI to issue 50-year and 100-year government papers.
“We are long-term investors. We have contractual obligations to pay back as per the contract. So, I have to manage investments and asset-liability management properly… Western countries have long-term bonds,” Mohanty said.
Mohanty said there has been a “slowdown” in the growth of life insurance, particularly in terms of penetration lately.
The slowdown has happened even as there has been a focus on enhancing the principles of insurance facilitation and moving towards a principle-based regulatory framework, he said, adding that this “dual reality” calls for a “comprehensive review” of LIC’s approach.
Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said that actuaries will help reduce the premiums paid by the general public by using the most scientific ways of assessing risks.
This will help increase the insurance penetration in the country, he said, adding that at 3.7 per cent, the penetration is very low when compared with the world average of 7 per cent.