BL: 21 Aug 2012
Starting August 21, Canara Bank’s savings bank accountholders can get a new life insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh at low and affordable yearly premium.
The bank’s Executive Director, A. K. Gupta, said the bank was launching Canara Freedom Suraksha on Tuesday as a value-added service for new and prospective SB customers.
The life cover, aimed at the low- and middle-income groups, comes with little documentation and no medical test but on a self-declaration of good health. It applies in natural and accidental deaths.
As many as 10,000 accounts are expected be covered on Day 1 and a targeted 10 lakh accounts in the next two months. “We will tap our customer base of 4.5 crore through promotions across our 3,600-odd branches in the country,” Gupta told Business Line on the eve of the launch.
A policyholder in the 18-35 year age group will need to pay an annual premium of Rs 177; in the 36-50 age bracket, Rs 366; and in the 51-59 age-group, Rs 988.
According to Shantha Rangaswamy, General Manager, “We want this product to mainly benefit customers who don’t have life cover.”
Canara Bank’s four-year-old joint venture CHOICe — short for Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company — is part of the insurance venture.
Canara Bank holds 51 per cent share in the venture; HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Ltd, 26 per cent; and Oriental Bank of Commerce, 23 per cent.
