U.K.'s Legal & General to Launch Life Venture in India

U.K.-based Legal & General Group plc [86120] has been cleared for its life insurance joint venture, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd., by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority in India.

The three-way life insurance joint venture among Legal & General, Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank plans to start operations this year. The initial launch will focus on the bancassurance model, said Legal & General in a statement.

IndiaFirst Life will focus on the more than 50 million customers of Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank, which together have more than 4,500 branches across India. Both Indian lenders have a substantial semi-urban and rural network.

The life insurer will initially offer products to cover the typical needs of savings, education and retirement, and will then expand into a range of protection, wealth management, health and group insurance plans, said Legal & General.

IndiaFirst Life is 44% owned by Bank of Baroda, 30% by Andhra Bank and 26% by Legal & General.

Bank of Baroda is the third-largest public bank in India with a network of 3,031 branches across the nation. Andhra Bank has a network of 1,536 branches in 22 states and two union territories in India.

Established 1836 in the United Kingdom, Legal & General offers insurance, pension, savings and investment products. With more than 6.5 million customers, it also has operations in the United States, Germany, France and the Netherlands. It managed a total global investment fund of 280 billion pounds (US$468 billion) for policyholders and institutions as of December 2008.

Life insurance joint ventures with banks have been a popular partnership route in India, supported by bancassurance distribution networks. In January, Japan-based Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. [85255] also formed a three-way joint venture, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd., with Bank of India and Union Bank of India (BestWire, Jan. 6, 2009).

Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd. currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior).