LIC covers mystery bigwig for Rs 51cr

Tough competition seen of late in the insurance sector seems to be doing wonders for the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). Hitti...

Tough competition seen of late in the insurance sector seems to be doing wonders for the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

Hitting a jackpot, the life insurance behemoth has not only bagged a single policy worth Rs 51 crore—the highest life insurance cover in the country—but it has also managed to get another eight policies worth Rs 28 crore (out of which one policy is worth Rs 20 crore).

The new high-cost policies are in the single premium category and are part of the popular ‘New Jeevan Shree’ policy. The policy-holder has to pay only a one-time premium and waits till maturity to receive the amount. Or, in case of death, receives the entire assured amount in advance.

An earlier policy for Rs 18 crore was the largest life insurance policy in the country, for film personality Subhash Ghai. And the costliest policy of Rs 51 crore and other high-cost policies are significant for the entire liberalised life insurance industry as it has been sourced not from any prosperous metropolis, but from small towns in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, thereby giving the lie to the myth that there are no rich people in small towns. The prospective policy-holder who has taken the Rs 51 crore cover would have paid an instant amount of over Rs 20 crore.

LIC’s chairman S.B. Mathur confirmed the development, but refused to give the details of the policy-holder or the exact place where the prospective largest policy holder of the corporation resides.