Tata AIG Life Insurance Company will now be known as Tata AIA Life Insurance Company

Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited, the life insurance joint venture formed by Tata Sons and AIA Group Limited (AIA), announced that it has changed its name to Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life).

The Company was set up as a joint venture between the leading Indian conglomerate Tata Group and the leading international insurance organization American International Group, Inc. (AIG). It was licensed to operate in India on February 12, 2001 and started operations on April 1, 2001. Since its inception, Tata Sons owns 74 percent stake in joint venture with the remaining 26 per cent share held by AIA, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of AIG at that time.

In 2010, AIA went public in Hong Kong and raised US$20.51 billion through an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO was the third largest globally at the time of listing, after which AIA emerged as the largest independent publicly listed Pan-Asian life insurance group in the world. AIA has a strong heritage and fundamentals of over 90 years in the Asian insurance market. It has wholly-owned main operating subsidiaries or branches in 14 markets in Asia Pacific.

To create a uniform identity of AIA owned companies post this IPO, the two promoters of this joint venture have chosen to change the Company name to Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited. However, the Company makes this transition just in its name; its single-minded focus in protecting the financial well-being of its customers remains unchanged.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Farrokh K. Kavarana, Chairman, Tata AIA Life, said, The Tata Group, along with our valued partner AIA, continue to remain committed to the Indian market and our valued customers and partners through our renamed entity Tata AIA Life. Over the past 11 years, we as a Company have strived to build a solid foundation of providing financial protection to our customers. We are confident that this strong foundation will enable us to stand unwaveringly in good stead and realize full potential of the vast Indian market.

Mr. Huynh Thanh Phong, Executive Vice President and Regional Chief Executive, AIA, said, In order to reflect the true brand identity of AIA and communicate its unique market position, history and its ongoing commitment to customers and partners in Asia Pacific region, the promoters of the joint venture have chosen to change the name of the company from Tata AIG Life Insurance to Tata AIA Life Insurance. The rechristened Tata AIA Life will continue to focus on building a Premier Agency sales force to meet the savings and protection needs of the customers in India with protection-centric products.

Mr. Suresh Mahalingam, Managing Director, Tata AIA Life, elaborated, While we make this transition in our name, nothing else will change. The promoters, the distribution network, the teams, the products, the technology and more importantly, our commitment towards putting the customers at the centre of everything we do, remain unchanged. The Foundation of Trust that our Company has been built upon will continue to be strengthened with the vast expertise that AIA brings with over 90 years of leadership in the life insurance business in the Asia Pacific region.

Performance of Tata AIA Life for the Financial Year 2011-12:

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life) also announced its financial results for the fiscal 2011-12 posting a net profit of Rs 260.31 crores.

The total premium income for the financial year ended March 2012 stood at Rs 3,630 crores as against Rs 3,985 crores posted for the financial year 2010-11. Of this, the new business premium collection stood at Rs 940 crore. The renewal premium for the same period was at Rs 2,690 crores as against Rs. 2,653 crores in the last fiscal. Traditional Business accounted for 45 per cent of the new business premium as against 29 per cent in the last fiscal.

During the financial year, the Company further enhanced its operating efficiencies resulting in the reduction of the operating expenses to total premium ratio to 21 per cent against 24 per cent in the previous financial year.

The total Assets under Management (AUM) of the Company has increased by 15 per cent to Rs 14,519 crore from Rs 12,622 crores in the last fiscal. As on 31st March, 2012, the paid-up capital of the company stood at Rs 1,954 crore.

Commenting on the Company’s performance, Mr. Suresh Mahalingam, Managing Director, Tata AIA Life said The Company has maintained focus on optimum utilization of resources and a healthy balance in the product mix between traditional & unit linked business. The cost management effectively delivered profitable growth for the Company with statutory profit of Rs. 260.31 crores. A solvency margin of 284 per cent further underlines the robust financial health of the company.

Recent Performance of AIA:

For the year ended 30 November 2011, AIA reported record new business growth with a 40 percent increase in Value of New Business (VONB) and 22 percent increase in Annualised New Premium (ANP). For the same period, AIAs Embedded Value stood at US$27,239 million, up by US$2,491 million from US$24,748 million as at 30 November 2010. It had total assets of US$114,461 million as of 30 November 2011.

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Ltd.

About Tata AIA Life

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life) is a joint venture company, formed by Tata Sons and AIA Group Limited (AIA). Tata AIA Life combines Tatas pre-eminent leadership position in India and AIAs presence as the largest, independent listed pan-Asia life insurance group in the world spanning 15 markets in Asia Pacific. Tata Sons holds a majority stake (74 per cent) in the company and AIA holds 26 per cent through an AIA Group company. Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited was licensed to operate in India on February 12, 2001 and started operations on April 1, 2001.

About Tata

The Tata group comprises over 100 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents, and its companies export products and services to 85 countries.

The total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $83.3 billion (around Rs. 3,796.75 billion) in 2010-11, with 58 per cent of this coming from business outside India. Tata companies employ over 425,000 people worldwide. The Tata name has been respected in India for more than 140 years for its adherence to strong values and business ethics.

Every Tata company or enterprise operates independently. Each of these companies has its own board of directors and shareholders, to whom it is answerable. There are 31 publicly listed Tata enterprises and they have a combined market capitalisation of about $79.40 billion (as on June 21, 2012), and a shareholder base of 3.6 million. The major Tata companies are Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels.

About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively AIA or the Group) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world. It has wholly-owned main operating subsidiaries or branches in 14 markets in Asia Pacific  Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau and Brunei and a 26 per cent joint venture shareholding in India.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai over 90 years ago. It is a market leader in the Asia Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$114,461 million as of 30 November 2011.

AIA meets the savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including retirement planning, life insurance and accident and health insurance. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents and employees across Asia Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 24 million individual policies and over 10 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code 1299 with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: AAGIY).