Aviva Life Insurance announced an increase in its capital base by Rs139 crores, taking the total paid-up capital to Rs459 crores.
- Total paid up capital has increased to Rs459 crores
- Fresh funds to fuel growth plans
- Recorded a growth of 105% with new business annualized premium equivalent (APE) of Rs314 crores in 2005
- Moves up to the 7th position with market share of 5.5% (April–November 2005)
Aviva Life Insurance announced an increase in its capital base by Rs139 crores, taking the total paid-up capital to Rs459 crores. As per government regulations Aviva holds a 26% stake and Dabur 74%. The fresh infusion will help fuel the growth plans in 2006.
Aviva Life Insurance has recorded a growth of 106% compared to the last year with new business annualized premium equivalent (APE) of Rs314 crores for the calendar year 2005. APE is calculated with 100% weightage on regular premium and only 10% weightage on single premium. Aviva has fared well with an increase in its market share to 5.5% during April-November 2005, up from the same period last year. Aviva was the 12th entrant in the insurance market and is already in the 7th position.
Mr Stuart Purdy, managing director, Aviva India, said: “Aviva has grown at a fast pace since inception in 2002 and we have established ourselves as a strong player in the Indian life insurance market. Insurance is a capital-intensive business and the current capital infusion of Rs139 crores will allow us to expand our operations, launch new products and reach out to the target audience. In the last one-year we have strengthened our Bancassurance and DSF channels allowing us access to a wider customer base. Through our rural marketing initiatives and tie-up with micro-finance institutes, we have managed to cover the length and breadth of the country.”
Mr Purdy, added: “Aviva has been able to rapidly establish its presence in the Indian market by adopting a differentiated approach to sales, distribution, marketing and product strategy. We currently have 17 bancassurance partnerships and are present in 353 locations across India. We are confident that the initiatives we have undertaken to achieve higher market share and manage risks better will result in substantial growth in the current year.”
Aviva’s fund management operation is one of its key differentiators. Operating from Mumbai, Aviva has an experienced team of fund managers and the range of fund options includes unitised with-profits fund and three unit linked funds - Secure Fund, Balanced Fund and Growth Fund. The flagship fund of the company has performed very well with a compounded annualised growth rate (CAGR) of 29.72% (as on December 31, 2005) since inception (June 6, 2002).
The company recorded healthy growth in both direct sales force and bancassurance channels due to adopting a unique approach in terms of sales, distribution, marketing & product strategy, fund performance and employee centricity. Some of the key initiatives include pioneering bancassurance in India, being the first to have an in-house fund management team, pioneering innovative unit linked products to provide customers flexibility, transparency and value for money, investing in training of financial planning advisers.
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For further information, please contact:
Vibha Gupta
IPAN
Telephone: 011-42492122
E-mail: vibha.gupta@ipan.com
Pooja Khan
Aviva India
Telephone: 0124-2804141
E-mail: pooja.khan@avivaindia.com
Notes to editors:
About Aviva India
Aviva Life Insurance is a joint venture between Dabur and Aviva. Current paid up capital amounts to Rs459 crores. Dabur are the 74% shareholder and Aviva the 26% shareholder. Aviva plc is the UK’s largest insurance group and the world’s oldest insurance group, with a history dating back to 1696. Today, it is the sixth largest insurer worldwide, with 30 million customers and Ł291 billion assets under management. Prior to nationalization, Aviva was the biggest of the foreign insurers operating in the Indian market.
Founded in 1884, Dabur is one of India’s oldest and largest groups of companies with the group’s consolidated annual sales in excess of Rs1,537 crores. A professionally managed company it is the country’s leading producer of traditional healthcare products.
Aviva pioneered the concept of bancassurance in India, and has leveraged its global expertise in this area successfully in India. Bancassurance has been contributing close to 65% of the total sales of Aviva India. Through its branches and its bancassurance partner locations, Aviva products are available in 353 towns and cities across India.
Aviva’s products have been designed in a manner to provide customers flexibility, transparency and value for money. We have been among the first companies to introduce unit linked products in the market.
Aviva has a unique need based sales approach through the “financial health check” (FHC). The FHC is a free service administered by our FPAs (financial planning advisers) for a need-based analysis of the customer’s long-term savings and insurance needs. Depending on the life stage and earnings of the customer, the financial health check assesses and recommends the right insurance product for them.
Aviva is also keen to reach out to the underprivileged that have not had access to insurance so far. Through its association with BASIX (a micro financial institution) and other NGOs, it has been able to cover lakhs of lives.