LIC mops up over Rs 1,380 crore in a day
New Delhi: The numbers are amazing, but true. The country's largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has made a record mop-up, collecting premium on over eight-and-a-half lakh policies, worth more than Rs 1,380 crore in a single day from all its zones, on November 30.
The hefty collection came to the insurer for a reason. Just a day before, on November 29, the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), asked all the insurers, including LIC, to close all those products and riders that were non-compliant to the new product guidelines by the November 30 deadline.
"You may call it magic of the fear factor, but it proved to be a red-letter day for the 1,180 lakh-odd agents of LIC, when they were able to sell 8,66,628 policies with premium amounting over Rs 1,389 crore in a single day on November 30," a top LIC official told this newspaper.
The western zone accumulated the maximum premium, worth Rs 407.12 crore from some 2,06,584 policies while central zone got only Rs 72.89 crore premium for the sale of 56,929 policies (see table.)
Commenting on the commendable achievement by the insurer, LIC Managing Director Vipin Anand, said, "It has demonstrated the strength and reach of our field force as well as commitment of our agents and development officers to ensuring that the message of life insurance reaches to all segments of the Indian society!"
Earlier, the Irdai had asked insurers to withdraw products by November 30 and to come up with the revised products from December 1. But this deadline has now been extended to January 31, 2020.
Keeping the earlier order of the regulator, all the agents of LIC, however, were on the toes to meet their targets, and successfully wooed its customers to hurry up and buy LIC products before they close, claiming that the redesigned products would be costlier for them.
Finally, this resulted in the mad rush among the people for 'cover' and they came forward in big numbers to buy expiring LIC products.