ITC LTD is set to start selling life
insurance policies through its e-choupal network later this month. The company is starting
a pilot in Madhya Pradesh and would expand the project to other states thereafter.
Chief executive of ITC’s agri-
business, S Sivakumar said today that ITC would sell the products of Life Insurance
Corporation as well as other private players in the field. "The details will be
announced later this month. The revenue sharing model between the insurance company. ITC
and the sanchalak who operates an e-choupal has been worked out too," Sivakumar said.
The company would use the referral model
for the sanchalaks who would sell life insurance policies in the villages. "This
model is based on offering choice to the consumer and we would provide various options to
them" he added.
Sivakumar said that in 2003 ITC would start
pilots on non-life general insurance products for their choupals. "We have not
started work on it as yet and would like to concentrate on life insurance for the
moment," he said.
When asked on crop insurance, Sivakumar
said that the crop insurance would have to wait as it is not a free market product and
selling it through choupals would happen much later.
Sivakumar said that the pilot on life
insurance would run for six months during which the company would try to learn about the
process and correct any hitches that it might have.
"Thereafter we would like to correct
the system before a complete roll out. There are issues that can be dealt with only a
pilot project," he added.
Sivakumar said that the company is
targeting a revenue of Rs 1600 crore from its agri- business in the current financial
year.
As a part of its expansion, Sivakumar said
that the choupals would be launched in states like West Bengal. Tamil Nadu and Kerala in
second phase.
"we are working on developing a model
for choupals for crops in which we have no involvement. When that is ready we can also
launch choupals for various areas like potato in West Bengal.
