Pvt. Players see drop in Policy Sales

The private life insurers have seen a drop of 10-15% in new policy sales since September 2010. The effect is attributed to the capping of charges in ULIPs & introduction of providing a minimum guarantee in Pension products by IRDA. Much of the sales for private players depended on ULIP sales & with commissions payable to agents entering single digit figures, a number of agents have gone out of business as it is no more viable for them. Most insurance biggies including ICICI Prudential, Birla Sunlife, Bajaj Allianz have been hit by the new guidelines. Couple of private players have also cut work force & closed shops to reduce the costs!