MUSCAT, Nov. 05, 2004
Times of Oman

In a bid to attract investments from the over 300,000-strong non-resident Indian (NRI) community in Oman, Bahrain-based LIC (International) E.C., a 98 per cent subsidiary of the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India, has launched three new products here.

In fact, LIC of India is coming to Oman in a big way by offering a series of products and services to NRIs. The three products launched in Oman on Wednesday were Jeevan Rekha, Jeevan Anand and Anmol Jeevan.

Jeevan Rekha: It’s a money-back plus whole-life plan policy, which provides for a periodic repayment every five years, for a lifetime, with the sum assured and bonuses paid in the end.

Jeevan Anand: It’s an endowment plus whole-life plan. The sum assured along with bonuses are paid at the end of a fixed term, with a free life cover beyond that term, for a lifetime.

Anmol Jeevan: It’s a pure term assurance plan for a fixed term up to 15 years, and renewable further. All these products are offered in India, and have proved to be quite popular. Further, the company is expected to introduce a series of LIC’s products in Oman in the future.

When contacted, LIC International Resident Manager (Muscat) K.S. Ramesh told Times Business: “An excellent feature of our insurance services is that the policies are repatriable to any of the 2,048 branches of LIC of India, once the customer returns to India.”

More precisely, all policies can be transferred to any of the 2,048 branches of LIC of India, after a minimum of one-year premium payment. However, the pension plan policy can be transferred only after two years. “In fact, we are offering a unique opportunity to NRIs in the Gulf to hold dollar assets safely.”

Ramesh said LIC has a network of 80 branches in Kerala and 150 branches in Tamil Nadu. If a customer leaves Oman, his policies can be transferred to any of the 2,048 branches in India. Further, the customer has an option to retain his/her policies in dollar here, even if he goes back to India, provided he continues to pay premium in the same currency.

“We facilitate housing loans under ‘Own Home Back Home’ scheme of LIC Housing Finance to the NRIs and provide services to the holders of Indian registered policies of LIC of India, currently residing in the Gulf,” the resident manager said.

At present, products such as Professional Education Plan for Children, Pension Plan, Double Cover Endowment Plan and Participating Marriage/Education Endowment Plan are very popular among NRIs in Oman.

LIC (International) E.C. Bahrain is a joint venture offshore company, promoted by Life Insurance Corporation of India. The company currently manages assets worth $50 million. The company was established to explore NRI insurance business opportunities in the Gulf. In a few other countries such as the UK, the LIC of India has its own branches.

The company, which commenced operations in July 1989, operates through chief agents in the states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. The Muscat branch commenced operation on January 1, 2004.