MIRA INFORM REPORT

 

 

Report Date :

24.08.2012

 

IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

 

Name :

BIRLA SUN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

 

 

Registered Office :

One Indiabulls Centre, Tower 1, 15th and 16th Floor, Jupiter Mill Compound, 841, S.B. Marg, Elphinstone Road, Mumbai – 400 013, Maharashtra

 

 

Country :

India

 

 

Financials (as on) :

31.03.2011

 

 

Date of Incorporation :

04.08.2000

 

 

Com. Reg. No.:

11-128110

 

 

Capital Investment / Paid-up Capital :

Rs.19695.000 millions

 

 

CIN No.:

[Company Identification No.]

U99999MH2000PLC128110

 

 

TAN No.:

[Tax Deduction & Collection Account No.]

MUMB08828B

 

 

Legal Form :

A Closely Held Public Limited Liability Company 

 

 

Line of Business :

Providing Life Insurance Solutions, Policies etc.

 

 

No. of Employees :

11152 (Approximately)

 

 

RATING & COMMENTS

 

MIRA’s Rating :

Ba (44)

 

RATING

STATUS

 

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

Satisfactory

 

Maximum Credit Limit :

USD 29000000

 

 

Status :

Satisfactory

 

 

Payment Behaviour :

Usually Correct 

 

 

Litigation :

Clear

 

 

Comments :

Subject is a Birla group company.

 

It is a well established and a reputed company having satisfactory track. The financial detail for the current year is missing from Government Department. However, trade relations are reported to be fair. Business is active. Payments are reported to be usually correct and as per commitments.

 

In view of strong promoters, the company can be considered normal for business dealings at usual trade terms and conditions.

 

NOTES :

Any query related to this report can be made on e-mail : infodept@mirainform.com while quoting report number, name and date.

 

RBI DEFAULTERS’ LIST STATUS

 

Subject’s name is not enlisted as a defaulter in the publicly available RBI Defaulters’ list.

 

 

EPF (Employee Provident Fund) DEFAULTERS’ LIST STATUS

 

Subject’s name is not enlisted as a defaulter in the publicly available EPF (Employee Provident Fund) Defaulters’ list as of 31-03-2012.

 

INFORMATION DECLINED

 

Management non-cooperative

 

(Contact No.: 91-22-39961000)

 

 

LOCATIONS

 

Registered Office :

One Indiabulls Centre, Tower 1, 15th and 16th Floor, Jupiter Mill Compound, 841, S.B. Marg, Elphinstone Road, Mumbai – 400 013, Maharashtra, India

Tel No.:

91-22-43569000

Fax No.:

91-22-43568758

E-Mail :

ashish.lakhtakia@birlasunlife.com

puneet.bansall@birlasunlife.com

customerservice@birlasunlife.com

grouphelpline@birlasunlife.com

Website:

www.insurance.birlasunlife.com

www.birlasunlife.com 

 

 

Corporate Office :

Vaman Centre, 6th Floor, Makhwana Road, Off Andheri-Kurla Road,  Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400 059, Maharashtra, India

Tel. No.:

91-22-66783333/ 66783262

Fax No.:

91-22-66783262/ 66923232

E-Mail :

bsli@birlasunlife.com

clientservices@birlasunlife.com 

rahulsinha@birlasunlife.com

grouphelpline@birlasunlife.com

puneet.bansall@birlasunlife.com

 

 

DIRECTORS

 

As on 20.06.2012

 

Name :

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Designation :

Chairman cum Managing Director

Address :

Mangal Aditnarayan , 20, Carmichael Road, Mumbai – 400 026, Maharashtra, India  

Date of Birth/Age :

14.06.1967

Qualification :

Chartered Accountant and MBA (London Business School)

Date of Appointment :

04.08.2000

DIN No.:

00012813

 

 

Name :

Mr. Ajay Srinivasan

Designation :

Director

Address :

91/101, Narain Terraces, 7 and 8 Floor, Union Road, Pali Hill, Bandra (West), Mumbai – 400 050, Maharashtra, India

Date of Birth/Age :

02.11.1963

Qualification :

BA with Honours in Economics and MBA (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad)

Date of Appointment :

01.07.2010

DIN No.:

00121181

 

 

Name :

Mr. Bishwanath Mangilal Puranmalka

Designation :

Director

Address :

Antariksha, Flat No.182 19th Floor, 95/96, Kakasaheb Gadgil Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai – 400 025, Maharashtra, India

Date of Birth/Age :

02.11.1935

Date of Appointment :

04.08.2000

DIN No.:

00007432

 

 

Name :

Mr. Donald Alexander Stewart

Designation :

Director

Address :

Apartment 606, 10, Bellair Street, Toronto, Canada M5R3T8

Date of Birth/Age :

06.11.1946

Qualification :

Fellow of Institute of Actuaries and Degree in Natural Philosophy (University of Glasgow)

Date of Appointment :

24.12.2000

DIN No.:

00438164

 

 

Name :

Mr. Jayant Sudesh Kumar Dua

Designation :

Managing Director

Address :

B-66, Ground Floor, Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi – 110 017, India

Date of Birth/Age :

30.01.1965

Date of Appointment :

01.07.2010

DIN No.:

00629213

 

 

Name :

Mr. Suresh Narsappa Talwar

Designation :

Director

Address :

10, Shiv Shanti Bhavan, 146, Maharishi Karve Road, Churchgate Reclamation, Mumbai – 400 020, Maharashtra, India

Date of Birth/Age :

21.11.1938

Date of Appointment :

11.09.2001

DIN No.:

00001456

 

 

Name :

Mr. Venkatesh Satyaraj Mysore

Designation :

Director

Address :

688, Supraja, 15th Cross, 100 Feet Ring Road, J.P. Nagar, Phase – II, Bangalore – 560 078, Karnataka, India

Date of Birth/Age :

30.12.1958

Date of Appointment :

01.01.2008

DIN No.:

01401447

 

 

Name :

Mr. Gianprakash Dharamprakash Gupta

Designation :

Director

Address :

101, Kaveri, B Wing, Neelkanth, Valley, Rajawadi, Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai – 400 077, Maharashtra, India 

Date of Birth/Age :

11.01.1941

Date of Appointment :

11.09.2001

DIN No.:

00017639

 

 

Name :

Dr. Rakesh Naging Chand Jain

Designation :

Director

Address :

110/2, A wing, Quantum Park, Union Park Road, Khar (West), Mumbai – 400 052, Maharashtra, India

Date of Birth/Age :

19.01.1961

Date of Appointment :

16.06.2010

DIN No.:

00020425

 

 

Name :

Mrs. Tarjani Manmukram Vakil

Designation :

Director

Address :

A-1, Ishwardas Mansion, Nana Chowk, Mumbai – 400 007, Maharashtra, India

Date of Birth/Age :

30.10.1936

Date of Appointment :

16.06.2010

DIN No.:

00009603

 

 

Name :

Mr. Kevin David Strain

Designation :

Director

Address :

180, Watson Ave, Ontario, Oakville, Canada L6J3T8

Date of Birth/Age :

31.08.1966

Date of Appointment :

28.04.2012

DIN No.:

05262340

 

 

KEY EXECUTIVES

 

Name :

Mr. Mayank Bathwal

Designation :

Chief Financial Officer and Head of Institutional Sales

 

 

Name :

Mr. Amitabh Verma

Designation :

Chief Operating Officer

 

 

Name :

Mr. Sashi Krishnan

Designation :

Chief Investment Officer

 

 

Name :

Mr. Niall O'Hare

Designation :

Chief Actuarial Officer

 

 

Name :

Mr. Arun Malkani

Designation :

Head – Information Technology

 

 

Name :

Mr. Saurov Ghosh

Designation :

Head – Human Resources and Training

 

 

Name :

Mr. Lalit Vermani

Designation :

Head – Compliance, Risk, Legal and Audit

 

 

Name :

Mr. Vikas Seth

Designation :

Head of Sales – DSF

 

 

Name :

Mr. Ashish Lakhtakia

Designation :

Secretary

Address :

Flat No.103-104, B Wing, Riviera Tower, Lokhandwala Township, Kandivali (East), Mumbai – 400 101, Maharashtra, India

Date of Birth/Age :

25.04.1973

Date of Appointment :

27.04.2011

PAN No.:

ACDPL9207F

 

 

MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS / SHAREHOLDING PATTERN

 

As on 20.06.2012

 

Names of Shareholders

 

 

No. of Shares

Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, India

 

1457429995

Sun Life Financial (India) Insurance Investments Inc., Canada 

 

512070000

Anil Rastogi Jointly with Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, India

 

1

BN Puranmalka Jointly with Aditya Birla Nuvo, Limited, India

 

1

Sushil Agarwal Jointly with Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, India 

 

1

Manoj Kedia Jointly with Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, India

 

1

Devendra Bhandari Jointly with Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, India 

 

1

Total

 

1969500000

 

As on 20.06.2012

 

Equity Share Breakup

 

Percentage of Holding

Category

 

 

Foreign holdings [Foreign institutional investors, Foreign Companies, Foreign Financial Institutions, Non-resident Indian or Overseas corporate bodies or others]

 

26.00

Bodies corporate

 

73.999999608

Directors or relatives of directors

 

0.000000078

Other top fifty shareholders

 

0.000000314

Total

 

100.00

 

 

BUSINESS DETAILS

 

Line of Business :

Providing Life Insurance Solutions, Policies etc.

 

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

No. of Employees :

11152 (Approximately)

 

 

Bankers :

Not Available

 

 

Banking Relations :

--

 

 

Auditors :

 

Name 1 :

S.R. Batliboi and Associates

Chartered Accountants 

Address :

6th Floor, Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400 021, Maharashtra, India

PAN No.:

AABFS3421N

 

 

Name 2 :

Fraser and Ross

Chartered Accountants

Address :

Deloitte Centre, Anchorage II, 100/2, Richmond Road, Bangalore – 560 025, Karnataka, India

PAN No.:

AAAFF0644S

 

 

Holding company :

Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited

CIN: L17199GJ1956PLC001107

 

 

Foreign Partner :

Sun Life Financial (India) Insurance Investments Inc.

 

 

Fellow Subsidiary :

v      Aditya Birla Finance Limited (Formerly known as Birla Global Finance Company Limited)

v      Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide Limited (Formerly known as Transworks Information Services Limited)

v      Aditya Birla Minacs IT Services Limited (Formerly known as PSI Data Systems Limited)

v      Aditya Birla Money Mart Limited (Formerly known as Birla Sun Life Distribution Company Limited) (w.e.f. March 31, 2009)

v      Aditya Birla Money Insurance Advisory Services Limited (Formerly known as BSDL Insurance Advisory Services Limited (w.e.f. March 31, 2009)

v      Aditya Birla Money Limited (Formerly known as Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited) (w.e.f. March 6, 2009)

v      Aditya Birla Financial Services Private Limited (w.e.f. November 4, 2008)

v      Aditya Birla Financial Shared Services Limited

v      Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Limited (Formerly known as Birla Insurance Advisory and Broking Service Limited) (w.e.f. August 18, 2010)

v      Madura Garments LifeStyle Retail Company Limited

 

 

CAPITAL STRUCTURE

 

As on 31.03.2011

 

Authorised Capital :

No. of Shares

Type

Value

Amount

3750000000

Equity Shares 

Rs.10/- each

Rs.37500.000 millions

 

 

 

 

 

Issued, Subscribed & Paid-up Capital :

No. of Shares

Type

Value

Amount

1969500000

Equity Shares 

Rs.10/- each

Rs.19695.000 millions

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

Of the above 1457430000 equity Shares of Rs.10/- each are held by Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, the holding company.


 

FINANCIAL DATA

[all figures are in Rupees Millions]

 

ABRIDGED BALANCE SHEET

 

SOURCES OF FUNDS

 

31.03.2011

31.03.2010

31.03.2009

SHAREHOLDERS FUNDS

 

 

 

1] Share Capital

19695.000

19695.000

18795.000

2] Share Application Money

0.000

0.000

0.000

3] Reserves & Surplus

4800.000

4800.000

1200.000

4] (Accumulated Losses)

(17225.082)

(20275.040)

(15920.075)

5] credit/(Debit) / Fair Value Change account

0.001

0.305

0.204

NETWORTH

7269.919

4220.265

4075.129

 

 

 

 

POLICYHOLDERS FUNDS

 

 

 

Credit/(Debit) Fair Value Change Account

0.069

0.653

0.099

Policy Liabilities

10608.571

7860.785

3999.354

Insurance Reserves

0.000

0.000

0.000

TOTAL BORROWING

10608.640

7861.438

3999.453

 

 

 

 

Provision for linked liabilities

170233.983

136542.641

86979.274

Funds for Discontinued Policies

 

 

 

i) Discontinued on account of non-payment of premium

6.401

0.000

0.000

Credit/(Debit) Fair Value Change Account

4351.817

9130.333

(5009.905)

TOTAL LINKED LIABILITIES

174592.201

145672.974

81969.369

 

 

 

 

Funds For Future Appropriation

 

 

 

Linked Liabilities

4569.742

2984.243

1289.584

TOTAL

197040.502

160738.920

91333.535

 

 

 

 

APPLICATION OF FUNDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIXED ASSETS [Net Block]

399.823

698.167

844.269

Capital work-in-progress

0.000

0.000

0.000

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT

6972.707

5043.972

4670.115

DEFERREX TAX ASSETS

0.000

0.000

0.000

 

 

 

 

Shareholders

16033.543

10581.669

5044.186

Assets held to cover linked liabilities

174592.201

145672.974

81969.369

Loans

263.070

265.468

223.516

 

 

 

 

CURRENT ASSETS, LOANS & ADVANCES

 

 

 

 

Inventories

0.000
0.000
0.000

 

Sundry Debtors

0.000
0.000
0.000

 

Cash & Bank Balances

5885.242
5697.972
5189.719

 

Other Current Assets

0.000
0.000
0.000

 

Loans & Advances

1371.709

1215.350

1044.299

Total Current Assets

7256.951
6913.322
6234.018

Less : CURRENT LIABILITIES & PROVISIONS

 
 

 

 

Sundry Creditors 

3320.427
3279.234
2818.804

 

Current Liabilities

4687.859
4834.277
4580.776

 

Provisions

469.507
323.141
252.358

Total Current Liabilities

8477.793
8436.652
7651.938

Net Current Assets

(1220.842)
(1523.330)
(1417.920)

 

 

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES

0.000

0.000

0.000

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

197040.502

160738.920

91333.535

 

 

PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT

 

 

PARTICULARS

31.03.2011

31.03.2010

31.03.2009

 

Premium Earned – Net

 

 

 

 

a) Premium

56770.665

55056.579

45718.041

 

b) Reinsurance Ceded

(825.041)

(802.949)

(551.663)

 

c) Reinsurance accepted

--

--

--

 

Sub-total

55945.624

54253.630

45166.378

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income from investments

 

 

 

 

a) interest, Dividend and Rent – Gross

7715.638

5215.712

3884.537

 

b) Profit on sale / Redemption of investments

15996.532

24129.090

3279.011

 

c) (Loss) on sale / Redemption of investments

(3894.870)

(3410.918)

(11161.291)

 

d) transfer/Gain (Loss) on revaluation / change in fair value

(4778.515)

14140.238

(2708.296)

 

e) Gain / (Loss) on Amortisation

(119.398)

(42.599)

(0.607)

 

Sub-Total

14919.387

40031.523

(6706.646)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Income

 

 

 

 

a) contribution from the shareholders account

619.836

4797.493

7639.899

 

b) Others (interest etc.)

236.803

143.486

170.850

 

Sub-Total

856.639

4940.979

7810.749

 

Total (A)

71721.650

99226.132

46270.481

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commission

3805.795

5161.974

4817.880

 

Operating expenses related to insurance business

12034.778

13267.526

12487.623

 

Provision for Doubtful debts

--

--

--

 

Bad debts written off

---

--

--

 

Provision for tax

(5.875)

--

61.500

 

Provision (other than taxation)

--

--

--

 

a) for diminution in value of investments (net)

--

--

--

 

b) others

--

--

--

 

Total (B)

15834.698

18429.500

17367.003

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benefits paid (Net)

19343.749

11387.815

6464.413

 

Interim Bonus Paid

--

--

--

 

Change in valuation of liabilities in respect of life policies

 

 

 

 

a) Gross

2779.908

4621.359

21245.680

 

b) Fund Reserve

28912.827

63703.604

 

 

c) Premium Discontinued Fund - Linked

6.401

--

 

 

d) (Amount ceded in Re-insurance)

(32.122)

(759.928)

(123.547)

 

c) Amount accepted in Re-insurance

--

--

--

 

Total (C)

51010.763

78952.850

27586.546

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surplus / (Deficit) (D)= (A)-(B)-(C)

4876.189

1843.782

1316.932

 

Appropriations

 

 

 

 

Transfer to shareholders account

3290.689

149.123

286.159

 

Transfer to other reserves

--

--

--

 

Balance being funds for future appropriation

1585.500

1694.659

1030.773

 

Total (D)

4876.189

1843.782

1316.932

 

 

 

 

 

 

The total surplus mentioned below

 

 

 

 

a) interim Bonuses paid

--

--

--

 

b) allocation of bonus to policyholders

--

--

--

 

c) surplus/(Deficit) shown in the revenue account

4876.189

1694.659

1030.773

 

Total Surplus [(a)+(b)+(c)]

4876.189

1649.659

1030.773

 

 

KEY RATIOS

 

PARTICULARS

 

 

31.03.2011

31.03.2010

31.03.2009

Debt Equity Ratio

(Total Liability/Networth)

 

2.63

3.86

2.86

 

 

 

 

 

Current Ratio

(Current Asset/Current Liability)

 

0.86

0.82

0.81

 

 

LOCAL AGENCY FURTHER INFORMATION

 

sundry creditors details:-

 

Particulars

31.03.2011

Rs. In Millions

31.03.2010

Rs. In Millions

31.03.2009

Rs. In Millions

Sundry Creditors *

3320.427
3279.234
2818.804

 

 
 
 

 

Note:

* There are no Micro, small and Medium Enterprises to whom the company owes dues, which are outstanding for more than 45 days as at 31st March 2010. This information as required to be disclosed under the Micro, small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 has been determined to the extent such parties have been identified on the basis of information available with the company.

 

Check List by Info Agents

Available in Report (Yes / No)

1) Year of Establishment

Yes

2) Locality of the firm

Yes

3) Constitutions of the firm

Yes

4) Premises details

No

5) Type of Business

Yes

6) Line of Business

Yes

7) Promoter’s background

Yes

8) No. of employees

Yes

9) Name of person contacted

No

10) Designation of contact person

No

11) Turnover of firm for last three years

Yes

12) Profitability for last three years

Yes

13) Reasons for variation <> 20%

--

14) Estimation for coming financial year

No

15) Capital in the business

Yes

16) Details of sister concerns

Yes

17) Major suppliers

No

18) Major customers

No

19) Payments terms

No

20) Export / Import details (if applicable)

No

21) Market information

--

22) Litigations that the firm / promoter involved in

--

23) Banking Details

No

24) Banking facility details

Yes

25) Conduct of the banking account

--

26) Buyer visit details

--

27) Financials, if provided

Yes

28) Incorporation details, if applicable

Yes

29) Last accounts filed at ROC

Yes

30) Major Shareholders, if available

Yes

31) Date of Birth of Proprietor/Partner/Director, if available

Yes

32) PAN of Proprietor/Partner/Director, if available

No

33) Voter ID No of Proprietor/Partner/Director, if available

No

34) External Agency Rating, if available

No

 

 


Note:

The registered office of the company has been sifted from Vaman Centre, 6th Floor, Makhawana Road, Off. Andheri Kurla Road, Marol, Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400 059, Maharashtra, India to the present address w.e.f. 01.09.2009.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Subject, headquartered at Mumbai, had commenced operations on 19th March, 2001, after receiving the license to transact life insurance business in India from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (‘IRDA’) on 31st January 2001. The license has been renewed annually and is in force as at 31st March 2011.

 

Subject is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, a Company of the Aditya Birla Group of India (74 percent) and Sun Life Financial (India) Insurance Investments Inc., subsidiary of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (26 percent). The Company offers non – participating linked and non-linked life insurance, health and pension products including riders for individual and group businesses. These products are distributed through individual agents, corporate agents, banks, brokers and other intermediaries across the country.

 

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

 

The Life Insurance Industry witnessed strong performance from its inception till 2009-10. The Regulator (IRDA) introduced a number of regulatory changes in FY 2010-11 to create a more robust platform for future growth. This led to the existing players in the industry reviewing their business strategies. They responded proactively to the changing regulations by reviewing their product strategy, distribution set up and operating model. This included moving towards a more balanced product mix and taking several steps to further strengthen their multi-channel distribution architecture.

 

The Company achieved total premium revenue of Rs.55946.000 Millions, mainly driven by strong renewal premium growth of 41%. As they transitioned into the new commission regime, their new business fell as did that of the private sector as a whole.

 

They are to announce the maiden annual profit for the Company, having declared profits for all four quarters in a row. The Company recorded a net profit of Rs.3049.000 Millions in FY11 against a loss of Rs.4355.000 Millions in last year. Going forward, the Company is confident of funding its business growth through internal accruals. The Company recorded good performance across a range of key financial parameters as detailed below:

 

·         While the total premium revenue amounted to Rs.55946.000 Millions registering a growth of 3%, the renewal premium of Rs.35968.000 Millions registered a robust growth of 41% over the previous year. As an insurer with a long-established track record, a significant portion of their business (95%) is on regular premium basis, which has provided them with a regular stream of renewal premiums. New business premium amounting to Rs.20803.000 Millions was lower than previous year by 30% for the reasons mentioned before.

·         The Renewal premium growth reflects the healthy state of their business in terms of quality of sales, servicing and underwriting capabilities. The Company stands in the top quartile amongst competitors on several persistency measures as disclosed by IRDA.

·         The total commission as % of total premium has declined from 9.4% in the previous year to 6.7% during the year .

·         The Company maintained excellence in investment performance for its policyholders. For all its unit linked funds, the Company delivered superior fund performance across the board, consistently beating benchmarks.

·         The Company took several steps to rationalize expenses across its operations to increase value to the customer without compromising on profit margins in the medium to long term.  They believe that the Company's profitable journey starting with the maiden profit of Rs.3049.000 Millions during the year, is sustainable given the business environment. These profits are primarily driven by in-force business, declining expense ratios and changes in product structures to reduce new business strain.

·         Given the robust financial performance, there has been no capital infusion for the current year. The solvency position for the Company has improved from 2.10 in FY10 to 2.88 in FY11.

 

They believe that the Company is well-positioned to grow profitably and gain market share, leveraging its strong brand, innovative products, talented team and distribution reach.

 

BUSINESS REVIEW

Industry Scenario

 

The Indian life insurance industry has witnessed a decade of high growth since it was opened to private players in 2000. Today the industry comprises of 23 players with more than 2.7 million agents spread across 11,000 branches. The multi distribution set up is well entrenched with Agency and Banca channels contributing more than 80% of new sales. After a decade of strong performance, which catapulted the Indian life insurance industry to amongst the top 5 countries in Asia, there is still scope for improving the insurance penetration levels.

 

·         The Indian life insurance market has been a predominantly Unit Linked Insurance Plan ("ULIP") market. The same was driven by advantages offered in these products, need of the customer and growth of equity markets during the last decade or so. During FY11, several regulations impacting the products as well as distribution were made effective.

·         Product related regulations: New regulations governing design of ULIPs, made effective in Sep'10, brought about a paradigm change across the sector. These new guidelines capped the overall charges, increased the minimum sum assured component, capped the surrender charges and imposed minimum prescribed returns to customers. The new regulations also required unit-linked pension to be offered with minimum guaranteed return of 4.5% p.a.

·         Distribution related regulations: IRDA, with a view to improve the quality of distribution, issued guidelines:1) to tighten the process around licensing of corporate agents and 2) to improve quality of individual life agents by prescribing minimum persistency requirements during the year.

 

In the long run, these regulations, which keep customer interests as the focal point, should positively impact the business:

·         Under the new guidelines, ULIPs are simplified and less expensive, thereby making it a more compelling proposition for consumers in the long-term vis-a-vis other comparable retail financial products.

·         The new guidelines will require players to improve customer stickiness and optimize cost structures.

 

Given the above, it is important to look at industry performance up to Sep’10 and Post Sep’10, when the new guidelines were made effective:

 

 

Particulars

 

New Business (Rs. Million)

Growth % over previous year same period

YTD Sep’10

Oct’10-Mar’11

FY11

YTD Sep’10

Oct’10-Mar’11

FY11

Private Players

137261.000

151064.000

288325.000

13%

-34%

-17%

LIC

206937.000

202927.000

409864.000

11%

-28%

-13%

Industry

344198.000

353990.000

698188.000

12%

-31%

-15%

 

As the table shows against a growth of 13% in the first half of the financial year, the private sector witnessed a decline of 34% over the next six months. This was primarily on account of:-

 

·         Withdrawal of old ULIP products and transitioning to new ULIP products under a new commission regime necessitated by the new regulations.

·         Several players moving to a balanced mix of ULIP and Non-ULIP products in the proportion of approximately 70:30 respectively in Q3 (for top 7 players).

·         Movement to single premium from Sep'10 onwards by several private players (37% in H2 against 14% in H1 of total individual new business premium).

 

At the end of the year, the Company's market share stood at 7.0% among private players and 2.9% for the total market.

 

Summary of Operations and Business

 

  • The total premium amounted to Rs.55946.000 Millions, driven by strong renewal premiums leading to growth of 41% in renewal premiums over the previous year.
  • Their new business sales were impacted due to withdrawal of their old ULIPs and time required for acceptability of new products. For the full year, new business amounted to Rs.20803.000 Millions resulting in a de-growth of 30% in new business for the Company.  They are fairly confident on gaining lost ground in the coming year, on the back of a robust product portfolio, higher distribution capacities, better distribution productivity and a strong brand.
  • In the last two years, they have focused on a conscious strategy of capital conservation and profitability Improvement. The endeavor to improve profitability and capital efficiency paid off in the current year with the Company registering a profit of Rs.3049.000 Millions. The year saw an improvement in expense ratio i.e. from 24% in FY10 to 21% in FY11. This was made possible on the back of several initiatives implemented to optimize the cost structure.
  • BSLI continues to follow a successful multi-channel distribution strategy with over 600 branches, 5 Bank partners and >200 third party distributors.
  • Agency Channel continues to be the Company's largest distribution channel accounting for 71% of the individual life business written in the year and registering new business premium of Rs.12095.000 Millions. They believe that they have been able to achieve an optimal agency size which enables them to cover the entire geography as well as focus on a more productive 'core'. The Company going forward will continue to gradually create distribution capacities that are sustainable in the long-run. In Agency channel, the Company currently is in the top quartile for FLS (Front line staff) productivity but they realize that higher utilization of existing capacities in the agency channel will become critical as they move forward. As a result, the Company has implemented focused programs to drive professionalization of sales forces and agents, which is expected to deliver result in the coming year. The Company has taken initiatives through sharply defining the profile of agents and FLS by developing a tight recruitment process which is expected to improve productivity going forward.
  • The year saw their Bancassurance channel delivering an Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) of Rs.2679.000 Millions. They foresee the role of Bancassurance to become more significant going forward and the Company is keen to increase its Bancassurance capacity which will help them achieve higher efficiencies and an optimal channel mix. Given the strength of their innovative product offerings and the differentiated service model, they are confident that they will be making further in-roads in this channel in the years ahead.
  • Over the past few years, they have built a strong franchise in the Corporate Agent and Broker segment. This segment saw new business sales of Rs.2242.000 Millions in FY11. The channel was specifically impacted as a result of the new ULIP guidelines. Going forward, the channel will leverage some of the new tie-ups achieved during the latter part of the year and is expected to deliver growth by fully activating these relationships. The Company will continue to look at new tie-ups in this segment with a view of creating long-term sustainable partnerships with key distributors.

 

  • The year saw Group business first year premium of Rs.3646.000 Millions. The Company has continued to focus on group business over the years. The approach has proved to be successful over the past 4-5 years as around 15% of the total new business on an average is contributed by Group business. The Company, on account of its established track record in this segment and superior investment performance, is one of the preferred product and service providers for various large, medium and small enterprises. Going forward, they plan to further extend their product portfolio to be able to meet their client needs.

·         In terms of Product performance, the strategy to move towards a non-ULIP portfolio, which was initiated a couple of years back, paid off in the current year as the Company moved to a more stable product mix during the year. By end of July 2010, the Company had already managed a 10% share of non ULIP products. Given their understanding and readiness to launch non-ULIP products, the Company has been quickly able to shin towards a higher traditional mix. In the second half of the year, the non ULIP products contributed close to 40% of their sales.

o They continue to strengthen their product portfolio. During the year they launched 5 traditional products taking the total non-ULIP product offerings to 8. The Company shall continue to pursue its balanced product mix strategy of ULIP and non ULIP keeping in mind interests of all stakeholders i.e. customers, distributors and shareholders.

o They have a long history of product innovation given their strong belief in offering the right products to their customers and they were the pioneers of ULIPs in India. Hence, ULIPs will continue to be their flagship products, even in the new ULIP regulatory regime. Since Sep'10 the Company introduced 8 ULIPs across wealth, child, savings and long-term accumulation products.

·         The Company has been supporting social causes from the beginning of its operations. As in the previous years, the Company complied with both rural and social obligations as mandated by IRDA and wrote 251,676 policies in the rural sector which was well-above the mandatory requirements as mandated by IRDA's regulations on rural obligations. In addition to this the group insurance cover under social obligation was written for 144,750 lives against the mandatory requirement for 25,000 lives. The Company entered into strategic tie-ups with microfinance institutions through which it was able to sell products like BimaKavach and BimaSuraksha which are primarily designed for the rural segment. The Company will continuously strive to launch specific products designed for the rural and semi-urban segment.

·         Investment performance across the range of fund offerings continued to be strong during the year. Assets under Management grew from Rs.161290.000 Millions to Rs.197598.000 Millions, an increase of 22%. The Company continued to deliver superior investment performance to its policyholders with every fund beating the internal benchmark set. This ability to provide strong investment performance in both good and bad market conditions is a key strength for the Company.

·         Their investment in branding yielded good results with the consideration scores (i.e. likelihood of prospective customers to purchase a policy) improving from 17% to 21% between Apr'10 to Feb'11. They believe that strength of brand is expected to become more important as the customers focus more on the provider than the product.

·         The Company undertook several measures to further improve on all health metrics for the business. Maintaining a high level of persistency is important to their financial results, as a large block of in-force policies provides them with regular revenues in the form of renewal premiums. Initiatives taken over the past couple of years in areas of customer segmentation to promote need-based selling. increasing customer engagement yielded results with the 13-Month persistency for new business premium at 82% (as on Dec'10). The business conservation improved from 60% in FY10 to 75% in FY11 for individual life business.

·         The Company continues to leverage technology for achieving its business goals and creating a robust customer service platform for creating service differentiation in this market. The Company has taken several steps towards developing a customer centric culture and improving turnaround times by engaging exclusive call centers and empowering its service assurance cell for effective query and complaint management.

·         The Company has been proactive in maintaining the culture of compliance. The Company continues to comply with all existing and new regulations which came in during the year, the primary ones being the regulations on capping of charges and corporate governance.

·         The Company got its results, assumptions and methodology for preparing Embedded Value (EV) and Value of New Business (VNB) for FY10 peer reviewed by an international actuarial firm. It will continue to set standards going forward by improving the disclosure standards around reporting EV and VNB.

 

OUTLOOK FOR THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

 

·         The last one year has been challenging for the life insurance industry in terms of new business growth. However, this has given an opportunity to existing players to review their operating models to drive higher efficiencies and focus on more balanced growth objectives.

·         In spite of the current phase of uncertainty they are bullish about the long-term prospects of the industry taking into account the underlying demographic and macro-economic driers. The future growth will be driven by factors like long-term economic growth, high savings rate, and rising awareness amongst the population about the need for insurance. While there can be some short term aberrations, long term growth continues to remain attractive.

·         The Company has identified the following focus areas to strengthen its competitive and financial position in the future years:

o Enhancing the distribution capacities across all channels and making them more productive by driving higher capacity utilization;

o Customer retention and increasing customers as a key driver for-revenue and profitability growth; Balanced product mix between ULIP and non-ULIP with a view to target all customer segments;

o Review operating model to drive higher customer and distributor satisfaction along with cost efficiencies.

 

AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS

 

During the year, Company won the following awards:

 

·         Prestigious ‘Good Corporate Citizen Award’ from Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the year 2009-10 under the category of ‘Banking and Financial Institutions’.

 

·         Silver Shield by Institute of Chartered Accountant of India for the second year in a row for “Excellence in Financial Reporting in Insurance Sector”.

 

·         Certificate of Merit for the year 2009 by South Asia Federation of Accounts (SAFA) in the category “Non Banking Sector not subject to Prudential Supervision” and they were the only life insurance company to be awarded. This award is conferred basis Improvement in Transparency, Accountability and Governance in the published Annual Reports.

 

CONTINGENT LIABILITY:

 

Particulars

31.03.2011

(Rs. In Millions)

31.03.2010

(Rs. In Millions)

Partly paid-up investments

450.000

0.000

Claims, other than against policies, not acknowledged as debts by the Company

4.707

4.150

Underwriting commitments outstanding

0.000

0.000

Guarantees given by or on behalf of the Company

0.000

0.000

Statutory demands / liabilities in dispute, not provided for

Refer Note Below

Refer Note Below

Reinsurance obligations to the extent not provided for in the accounts.

0.000

0.000

Others *

118.935

70.107

 

* Represents potential liability to the Company (net of reinsurance) in respect of cases filed against the Company’s decision of repudiation of death claims and customer complaints.

 

Note:

The Company has received several Show Cause-Cum-Demand notices in earlier period relating to Service Tax demands related to excess utilization of CENVAT credit against liability on risk premium, applicability on fund management charges, payment of reimbursements to agents and foreign payments aggregating to Rs.443.025 Millions (Previous year Rs. 443.025 Millions) plus applicable interest and penalty, which is contested.

 

fixed assets:

 

v      Goodwill

v      intangibles (Software’s)

v      Land – Freehold Property

v      Buildings

v      Furniture and Fittings

v      Information Technology

v      Equipment

v      Vehicles

v      Office Equipment

v      Others (Leasehold Improvements)

 

WEBSITE DETAILS:

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

BIRLA SUN LIFE INSURANCE LAUNCHES NEW WHOLE LIFE PLAN – BSLI WEALTH SECURE

 

The plan allows customers to secure their family’s future for an entire lifetime and maximize wealth with unique investment strategies

 

Mumbai, June, 2012: Birla Sun Life Insurance Company, a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group, India’s leading transnational conglomerate and Sun Life Financial Inc, one of the leading international financial services organizations from Canada, has announced the launch of its new whole life plan, ‘BSLI Wealth Secure’. The plan enables customers to meet their financial goals according to their changing life stages with equity market participation, and also provides them financial security throughout their entire lives.

 

Niall O’Hare, Chief Actuarial Officer, Birla Sun Life Insurance, says, “With three investment options to choose from, the plan can meet the demands of the diverse investors. BSLI Wealth Secure plan combines long-term savings and whole life cover in such a way that it allows customers to focus on their goals and maximize savings for their future.” He adds, “With a built-in savings component, BSLI Wealth Secure plan can help accumulate sizable returns with every premium paid, owing to its long tenure and equity market participation.”

 

The plan enables a customer to fulfill his family’s dreams with prudent investments and also financially secure their future with a whole Life cover.

 

Many customers tend to stay away from the equity market opportunity due to lack of knowledge, thereby compromising on their long-term wealth creation goals. The company is positive that the product will induce many more customers to achieve a balanced growth on their investments while they benefit from advanced investment strategies and also a whole life cover.

 

The plan offers customers a choice to select the premium amount. Based on his/her current age and the premium amount that the customer opts for, the company will determine the life cover applicable on the policy. This is also the minimum Basic Sum Assured.

 

Key features of BSLI Wealth Secure plan include –

 

· Insurance cover for whole life.

· Option to select from three investment strategies - Systematic Transfer Option, LifeCycle Option and Self-Managed Option.

 

ü Systematic Transfer Option mitigates the risk arising from the volatility in the equity market by averaging out a customer’s cost of purchase. This option allows customers to enter the equity market not at once, but slowly at different times and at different levels, thus reducing the overall risk to their portfolio.

ü LifeCycle Option is meant for individuals who want their investments to change according to their changing age and risk profile.

ü Self-Managed Option is meant for individuals who seek complete freedom and flexibility to manage their investments by allocating the premiums across investment funds of their choice in varying proportions. Self- managed Option gives customers access to BSLI’s well established suite of 13 investment funds with complete control on how to invest premiums, and the independence to switch from one investment fund to another.

 

· Option of increasing life cover by up to 300% of the minimum Basic Sum Assured.

· Advantage of enhanced financial security with BSLI Riders.

· Flexibility to make partial withdrawals to meet any financial emergencies after completion of five policy years.

· Additional boost to Fund Value in the form of Guaranteed Additions.

· Payment of Sum Assured or fund value to the nominee, whichever is higher, in the unfortunate event of death of the Life Assured during the term of the policy.

· Tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

 

About Birla Sun Life Insurance

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group, a well known Indian conglomerate and Sun Life Financial Inc, one of the leading international financial services organizations from Canada. With an experience of over a decade, BSLI has contributed to the growth and development of the Indian life insurance industry and currently is one of the leading life insurance companies in the country. BSLI offers a complete range of offerings comprising of protection solutions, children's future solutions, wealth with protection, health and wellness as well as retirement solutions and has an extensive distribution reach over 500 cities through its network of 632 branches, over 132,816 empanelled advisors and over 200 partnerships with Corporate Agents, Brokers and Banks. The AUM of Birla Sun Life Insurance is close to Rs.157260.000 millions and it has a robust capital base of over Rs.24500.000 millions as on May 30, 2012.

 

About Aditya Birla Financial Services Group

Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) ranks among the top 5 fund managers in India (excluding banks and LIC) with an AUM of ~USD 17.5 billion. Having a strong presence across the life insurance, asset management, NBFC, private equity, retail broking, distribution and wealth management and general insurance broking businesses, ABFSG is committed to serve the end-to-end financial services needs of its retail and corporate customers. The seven companies representing ABFSG are Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Limited, Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Aditya Birla Capital Advisors Private Limited, Aditya Birla Money Limited, Aditya Birla Money Mart Limited, and Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Limited In FY 2011-12, ABFSG reported consolidated revenue from these businesses at Rs.65500.000 millions (USD 1.3 billion) and earnings before tax at Rs.6000.000 millions. Anchored by about 17,000 employees and trusted by about 5.5 million customers, ABFSG has a nationwide reach through more than 1,775 points of presence and about 200,000 agents / channel partners.

 

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2012, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $494 billion.

 

 


CMT REPORT (Corruption, Money Laundering & Terrorism]

 

The Public Notice information has been collected from various sources including but not limited to: The Courts, India Prisons Service, Interpol, etc.

 

1]         INFORMATION ON DESIGNATED PARTY

No records exist designating subject or any of its beneficial owners, controlling shareholders or senior officers as terrorist or terrorist organization or whom notice had been received that all financial transactions involving their assets have been blocked or convicted, found guilty or against whom a judgement or order had been entered in a proceedings for violating money-laundering, anti-corruption or bribery or international economic or anti-terrorism sanction laws or whose assets were seized, blocked, frozen or ordered forfeited for violation of money laundering or international anti-terrorism laws.

 

2]         Court Declaration :

No records exist to suggest that subject is or was the subject of any formal or informal allegations, prosecutions or other official proceeding for making any prohibited payments or other improper payments to government officials for engaging in prohibited transactions or with designated parties.

 

3]         Asset Declaration :

No records exist to suggest that the property or assets of the subject are derived from criminal conduct or a prohibited transaction.

 

4]         Record on Financial Crime :

            Charges or conviction registered against subject:                                                              None

 

5]         Records on Violation of Anti-Corruption Laws :

            Charges or investigation registered against subject:                                                          None

 

6]         Records on Int’l Anti-Money Laundering Laws/Standards :

            Charges or investigation registered against subject:                                                          None

 

7]         Criminal Records

No available information exist that suggest that subject or any of its principals have been formally charged or convicted by a competent governmental authority for any financial crime or under any formal investigation by a competent government authority for any violation of anti-corruption laws or international anti-money laundering laws or standard.

 

8]         Affiliation with Government :

No record exists to suggest that any director or indirect owners, controlling shareholders, director, officer or employee of the company is a government official or a family member or close business associate of a Government official.

 

9]         Compensation Package :

Our market survey revealed that the amount of compensation sought by the subject is fair and reasonable and comparable to compensation paid to others for similar services.

 

10]        Press Report :

            No press reports / filings exists on the subject.

 


 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

MIRA INFORM as part of its Due Diligence do provide comments on Corporate Governance to identify management and governance. These factors often have been predictive and in some cases have created vulnerabilities to credit deterioration.

 

Our Governance Assessment focuses principally on the interactions between a company’s management, its Board of Directors, Shareholders and other financial stakeholders.

 

 

CONTRAVENTION

 

Subject is not known to have contravened any existing local laws, regulations or policies that prohibit, restrict or otherwise affect the terms and conditions that could be included in the agreement with the subject.

 

 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

 

Currency

Unit

Indian Rupees

US Dollar

1

Rs.55.19

UK Pound

1

Rs.87.65

Euro

1

Rs.69.15

 

 

INFORMATION DETAILS

 

Information Gathered by :

PJA

 

 

Report Prepared by :

SMN

 


 

SCORE & RATING EXPLANATIONS

 

SCORE FACTORS

 

RANGE

POINTS

HISTORY

1~10

4

PAID-UP CAPITAL

1~10

5

OPERATING SCALE

1~10

5

FINANCIAL CONDITION

 

 

--BUSINESS SCALE

1~10

5

--PROFITABILIRY

1~10

5

--LIQUIDITY

1~10

5

--LEVERAGE

1~10

5

--RESERVES

1~10

5

--CREDIT LINES

1~10

5

--MARGINS

-5~5

-

DEMERIT POINTS

 

 

--BANK CHARGES

YES/NO

YES

--LITIGATION

YES/NO

No

--OTHER ADVERSE INFORMATION

YES/NO

No

MERIT POINTS

 

 

--SOLE DISTRIBUTORSHIP

YES/NO

No

--EXPORT ACTIVITIES

YES/NO

No

--AFFILIATION

YES/NO

Yes

--LISTED

YES/NO

No

--OTHER MERIT FACTORS

YES/NO

Yes

TOTAL

 

44

 

This score serves as a reference to assess SC’s credit risk and to set the amount of credit to be extended. It is calculated from a composite of weighted scores obtained from each of the major sections of this report. The assessed factors and their relative weights (as indicated through %) are as follows:

 

Financial condition (40%)            Ownership background (20%)                 Payment record (10%)

Credit history (10%)                    Market trend (10%)                                Operational size (10%)

 


 

RATING EXPLANATIONS

 

 

RATING

STATUS

 

 

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

>86

Aaa

Possesses an extremely sound financial base with the strongest capability for timely payment of interest and principal sums

 

Unlimited

71-85

Aa

Possesses adequate working capital. No caution needed for credit transaction. It has above average (strong) capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Large

56-70

A

Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Fairly Large

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

 

Satisfactory

26-40

B

Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively below average.

 

Small

11-25

Ca

Adverse factors are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums in default or expected to be in default upon maturity

 

Limited with full security

<10

C

Absolute credit risk exists. Caution needed to be exercised

 

 

Credit not recommended

-

NB

                                       New Business

-

 

 

 

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL : This information is provided to you at your request, you having employed MIPL for such purpose. You will use the information as aid only in determining the propriety of giving credit and generally as an aid to your business and for no other purpose. You will hold the information in strict confidence, and shall not reveal it or make it known to the subject persons, firms or corporations or to any other. MIPL does not warrant the correctness of the information as you hold it free of any liability whatsoever. You will be liable to and indemnify MIPL for any loss, damage or expense, occasioned by your breach or non observance of any one, or more of these conditions

This report is issued at your request without any risk and responsibility on the part of MIRA INFORM PRIVATE LIMITED (MIPL) or its officials.