Kotak gets licence from IRDA

Kotak gets licence from IRDA
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU

MUMBAI, JAN 10: Om Kotak Mahindra (OMKM) Life Insurance Company Ltd, a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd and UK-based Old Mutual plc today received the certificate from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority to conduct life insurance business in India.

"We and our partners are already well advanced in planning for launch of our first products in India," deputy chairman of OMKM Hasan Askari, said in a release here today.

The company expects to start issuing policies within a few weeks, he said.OMKM would have an initial networth over Rs 150 crore and would be headquartered in Mumbai, it said adding, the company plans to open branches across the country in next two years.

Dabur, CGNU team up for life insurance: The Dabur group and CGNU plc of the United Kingdom have entered into a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture in life insurance. The Burman family, promoters of the Dabur group, will put in 74 per cent and CGNU the 26 per cent foreign component. A formal agreement will be signed soon and the exact quantum of paid-up capital will be decided then. It will, however, be more than the Rs 100-crore minimum stipulation laid down by the regulator, said Dabur director P D Narang. An application to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) may be filed by the month-end, he added.

The new venture hopes to begin operations by the middle of this year, subject to regulatory approvals, a press release stated.

Mohit Burman, who is leading the "Burman family initiative" in the field of insurance, said Dabur India Ltd -- the flagship company of the Dabur group -- would not invest in the venture, and continue to focus on the core areas of health, personal care and foods. He stressed that the Burman family was foraying into insurance through other Dabur group companies.

Dabur was the first Indian company to file an application when the Irda opened its window for registration of new players on August 16 last year. However, its agreement with Allstate Insurance came unstuck just months later with the US group withdrawing from Asian operations.

CGNU too had a long-standing MoU with The Hindustan Times for a life insurance JV, but the Birlas broke off recently on the grounds that they were redefining their areas of focus.