No insurer can ignore bancassurance channel, says India First Life MD

Bancassurance channel recently came under scrutiny due to reports of mis-selling of insurance products. There were murmurs of regulatory clampdown too. The sector, meanwhile, is growing at a fast pace and has also done some course correction. Rushabh Gandhi, MD & CEO of IndiaFirst Life Insurance, told Aathira Varier and Subrata Panda in Mumbai that their grievance rates were at the lowest since inception. He also said that the firm will continue to be bancassurance-heavy, even as it diversifies. Gandhi also discussed the company's growth and listing plans going forward. Edited excerpts

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How has the year been for you so far?

The first quarter of the ongoing financial year (Q1FY26) was impressive, with overall growth reaching 44 per cent. Bank of Baroda channel increased by 22 per cent, Union Bank of India channel saw a 17 per cent rise, and our agency business is now performing 5 times better than last year. Amalgamation in regional rural banks (RRBs) impacted their distribution capacity in Q1, but we are seeing green shoots and expect it to stabilise in Q2. Now that the core restructuring within RRBs is complete, we look forward to getting enhanced share as regards the life insurance business.

What about profitability?

In spite of the significant investments in the agency channel, we expect the year-end value of new business (VNB) margin to be substantially better than last year's VNB margin of 17.6 per cent.

What is the rationale behind investing so much in the agency channel?