IDBI Fortis to double headcount, increase branches

Chennai, Nov 20 : Private sector insurer IDBI Fortis Life Insurance is planning to double its headcount to 2,000 as well as expand its branch network in the country.

"Currently we have 35 branches. This will be increased to 200 by next year and our employee strength will be doubled to 2,000," Aneesh Srivastava, chief investment officer of the company, told reporters here Friday.

The Mumbai-based company is also planning to double the number of its insurance agents to 15,000.

IDBI Fortis is a three-way joint venture between IDBI Bank, Federal Bank and Belgian group Fortis.

IDBI Bank holds 48 percent stake in the company, while the other two own 26 percent each.

The Rs.450-crore equity company is also planning to launch health and group insurance policies next fiscal, said Amish Tripathi, national head (marketing and product management).

"We are currently working on it and they may be launched next fiscal."

Nearly 85 percent of the company's revenues come from unit-linked insurance policies (ULIP) and the balance from traditional policies, he said.

"The contribution of traditional policies is expected to go up with the launch of Incomesurance, a hybrid of endowment and money back policies," Tripathi said.

The one-year-old IDBI Fortis is confident of breaking even in the seventh year of operations. "We have good control over our costs. Further, the economic recession has helped in getting cheaper rental rates for our branches," Tripathi told IANS.