Bahrain: Non-resident Indians help make LIC top insurer
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Sep 2015
India’s state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has emerged as the market leader in Bahrain and the third largest player in the UAE, thanks to the thousands of non-resident Indians (NRIs) working in the region.
“LIC has a 43% market share of premium income and a 89% share in policies in Bahrain,” Mr Rajesh Kandwal, CEO & Managing Director of LIC International, Bahrain, told The Indian Express.
“Despite the intense competition, we are the market leader in Bahrain,” said Mr Kandwal. The brand, he added, “has a very strong connect with NRIs and quite accepted in the region, thereby making the NRI segment a niche market for us”.
“The customer base in the countries we are operating in the region mainly comprises of NRIs, though we do sell to the local nationals wherever we are licensed to sell,” he added. “We distribute our products through tied channels, banks, brokers and corporate agents.”
LIC’s major bancassurance partners include Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) and State Bank of India in Bahrain; FGB, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and RAK Bank in the UAE; and Doha Bank in Qatar.
LIC operates in five GCC countries — Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.