Apollo Munich eyes 30% growth

Apollo Munich health insurance is eyeing a 30 per cent growth in gross written premium aided by a stronger agency distribution channel and new products. The company is planning to increase the share of retail policies as it is more profitable than corporate cover. The company has reduced the share of the corporate health segment down to 20 per cent from 30 per cent in the last five years. “This year we are eyeing a 30-33 per cent growth in gross written premium. In absolute terms, the gross written premium is set to cross Rs 1,700 crore from around Rs 1,300 crore last year. The growth will be driven largely by the three retail channels – agents, direct sale and third party distribution. We expect to remain profitable,” said Krishnan Ramachandran, deputy chief executive officer, Apollo Munich Health Insurance. “We currently have around 40,000 individual agents and the strength is increasing every year by around 10-15,000. Taking into consideration the attrition, we could end the financial year with a strength of close to 50,000 agents,” Ramachandran said.