IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a relatively new Indian private life insurance company, has launched a new Group Microinsurance Plan. The plan provides affordable life insurance coverage to groups such as microfinance institutions (MFIs), self help groups (SHGs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The plan insures the lives of the group members as well as provides protection from loan liabilities in the case of death of the primary earner of the family.
Samhita Community Development Services (SCDS) will be the first group to benefit from the new product. SCDS is an organization that primarly serves poor, rural women in the Madhya Pradesh district. Under the terms of the agreement, 13,356 SCDS members will be covered for a cumulative amount of over Rs 7 crore, approximately USD 205,000. The policy covers the lives of the group members as well as protection from loan liabilities in the event of the death of the primary bread-winner
Launched in March 2008, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co. Ltd., is a joint venture between IDBI, an Indian development and commercial bank, Federal Bank, an Indian private sector bank, and Fortis, a European financial services provider. IDBI owns 40% of the equity of the joint venture and Federal Bank and Fortis own 26% each. Products are distributed through the IDBI and Federal Reserve Bank branches as well as through IDBI Fortis’ network of insurance advisors.
Samhita Community Development Services is an incubator for specialized development initiatives, exclusively targeting disadvantaged and dispersed populations. Based in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, the network’s mission is to deliver economic and primary health services on a fast-track basis and at scale, supported by its common appropriate technology platform. Samhita’s economic service offerings to poor households address 3 levels – through microfinance, micro-enterprises and web-enabled common markets. SCDS does not report to MIX Market, the information clearinghouse for microfinance institutions.
By Iyanna Holmes, Research Assistant
Additional Resources:
IDBIFortis.com
MoneyControl.com: December 16, 2008, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Launches Group Microinsurance Plan
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