Bandhan Life targets 100% annual growth in premiums for next 2 years, eyes composite licensing: MD & CEO Satishwar B

Satishwar B, MD and CEO, Bandhan Life

Bandhan Life is aiming for 100 percent year-on-year growth in premium collections for the next two years, backed by product diversification and digital underwriting, said MD and CEO, Satishwar B, in an interaction with Moneycontrol.

Currently, the insurer’s premium mix includes 40 percent from unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs), another 40 percent from traditional savings products, and the remaining 10 percent from term insurance.

However, Satishwar said, when measured by the number of policies sold, term plans lead the pack, contributing 50 percent, while ULIPs account for 10–15 percent.

The company rebranded from Aegon Life to Bandhan Life in April 2024 after a full acquisition by Bandhan Financial Holdings.

Satishwar said the insurer was unaffected by recent changes in surrender value norms as it only began expanding its product portfolio after the new rules were announced. "We designed our products in line with the new surrender value guidelines, so there was no need for pricing alterations. For us, the transition wasn’t the challenge," he said.

Speaking on a possible listing of the company, he said, while an IPO is a consideration, it’s not on the immediate horizon. "We would like to go public sometime in the future but not right now, it is too soon."

He also said the company is eyeing composite licensing, which is expected to be announced in the upcoming monsoon parliamentary session, highlighting its broader ambitions within the insurance sector.

A composite insurance licence allows an insurer to offer both life and general (non-life) insurance products under a single entity.

He also said that composite licensing could help attract greater foreign direct investments, as it would encourage global health insurance experts to enter the Indian market.

Bandhan Life has adopted a fully digital underwriting model, which Satishwar said has helped address issues like impersonation, a rising concern in the insurance sector. "The digital medium helps curb impersonation significantly, which is quite prevalent in the industry," he added.

He noted that life insurers have been transitioning over the last five to six years from monolithic IT systems to microservices-driven architecture.

While acknowledging that "technology is expensive," Satishwar said the company uses subscription-based SaaS services to keep capital expenditure low, with much of the remaining cost going toward human resources. "We are making a conscious effort to put infotech security at the core, from how we operate, store, and process data."

Satishwar also said the Bima-ASBA platform integration is currently underway.

"We’re already following a similar process internally via Bandhan Bank, where premium collection happens before policy issuance. The delay is because we want to ensure our internal systems are robust before going live. We should be in place sooner or later."

On the distribution front, 60 percent of the company’s business currently comes from the bancassurance (banca) channel, with the remaining 40 percent from other models such as corporate agency partnerships (including e-commerce and quick commerce) and brokers.

While the banca share will remain steady, Bandhan Life is looking to ramp up its presence across alternate channels by adding more partners, he said.

The company is not operating under an agency-driven model yet but plans to explore it later.

While refraining from specifying any timeline, Satishwar said, "as far as our strategy is concerned, agency-driven model will come later."

As of FY24, Bandhan Life reported Assets Under Management (AUM) of approximately Rs 4,431 crore.

The company’s net premium income for FY24 stood at around Rs 500 crore, supported largely by its bancassurance-led model and focused digital distribution strategy.