Sunday, September 21, 2008

Tata-AIG Life announces expansion plan amidst turmoil

New Delhi, Sep 21 : Tata Group's life insurance arm, in which American International Group -- which last week got a new lease of life -- has 26 per cent stake, plans to ramp up its branch network by adding another 100 branches in the next 12 months.

"Our branch distribution network expanded from only 80 offices to nearly 400 offices during the past 18 months and the next 12 months will see the count cross 500," Tata AIG Life said in a public advertisement.

On the financial strength the company said, it is well capitalised and is subject to stringent regulatory and capital requirement. The solvency margin stood over 300 per cent compared to the regulatory minimum of 150 per cent at August-end .

Following the liquidity crisis in AIG Inc earlier this week, its Indian venture was under shadows.

In order to safeguard the interest of policy holders of Tata AIG, insurance sector regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) summoned reports from both the partners.

"The recent developments in the global financial markets have been truly extraordinary. As the US financial crisis goes through some challenging times, we want to assure you that this does not have any immediate material impact on Tata AIG Life," announcement added.

Recently, AIG was extended a $85-billion lifeline by the US Fed to help the troubled company meets its liquidity requirement.

No comments: