Life insurance more accessible with GST cut: Shriram Life CEO

Shriram Life Insurance, promoted by Shriram Group and Africa's Sanlam Group, has set ambitious growth targets for FY30.

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The firm's managing director and chief executive officer, Casparus J H Kromhout, talks to Shine Jacob in Chennai about its future, the impact of recent regulatory decisions on business, and the new goods and services tax (GST) relief for customers. Edited excerpts:

Is it true that the impact of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (Irdai's) special surrender value (SSV) norms may dent your growth rate from an expected 30 per cent to around 20 per cent this year? Also, what will be the impact on margins?

· It does have a solvency impact, which may reflect in our growth rate. We have been able to mitigate it mostly by adjusting commissions where appropriate, and through technology and cost-efficiency measures.

We will continue on our growth path, but because SSV affects solvency, we need to be more cautious about the pace of growth.