Jio Financial Services eyes life and general insurance entry in alliance with Allianz
MUMBAI: Jio Financial Services is keen to enter the general and life insurance businesses by extending its partnership with German insurance major Allianz and offering the whole suite of insurance products.
The move comes as Parliament is about to pass the composite insurance bill. This will allow an insurance company with a composite licence to offer all sorts of insurance -- life, general and health covers -- as is widely available across the world.
“Our entry into insurance underwriting will further cement our position as a full-stack provider of new-age financial services to the people. This comes at a time when growing financial awareness is leading to unprecedented demand for insurance solutions, as more and more of our people seek to secure their families’ future and protect their hard-earned assets,” Jio Financial Services chairman KV Kamath told shareholders at the annual general meeting here Thursday.
The company had already entered into an alliance with the German insurance giant for re-insurance and has also inked agreements to launch life and general insurance businesses, Kamath, who is credited for building ICICI Bank into a major financial powerhouse, told the shareholders.
“I am standing here with a great sense of pride, because in the past 12 months, we have taken our blueprint for growth and started laying the bricks of a leading, digital-first financial institution catering to the evolving aspirations of our customers…an institution that we believe will be of national importance for decades to come,” he said, noting that the company has entered the mutual funds business in alliance with the Wall Street major Black Rock.
"Rising income levels, policy reforms, greater digitalisation and fiscal consolidation are all our structural advantages auguring well for future growth. This is something that even global credit ratings agencies have now started appreciating, as is evident from the recent upgrade in our sovereign ratings by S&P, the first after 18 years," he said.
But he rued that despite being the world’s fourth largest economy, the penetration of key financial services such as credit, mutual funds and insurance remains low in our country. “With growing economic prosperity and greater financial awareness, the potential for future growth in financial services is significant," he said.
“At a time when more of us are looking to invest for the future, protect their families and assets through insurance, and avail credit to buy a house or start a business, technology is ensuring that world-class financial products that were once considered out of reach, are now within everyone’s grasp,” Kamath said.
JioBlackrock Asset Management has successfully closed two NFOs and has eight funds available in the market, across the debt and equity index segments, while the vertical has shown significant growth, with AUM increasing to Rs 11,665 crore in Q1, up from just Rs 217 crore a year ago, Kamath said.
Reaffirming their faith in the future of the company, the promoters have agreed to commit an additional Rs 15,825 crore in equity capital through a preferential issue of warrants, he said.