New Delhi,  India:

• Established itself amongst TOP TEN private players within 26 months of launch

• Achieved the highest 13-month persistency ratio for private players at 88% for April-June quarter

• New products lay greater emphasis on protection along with long term wealth creation

— Launched a traditional endowment product with Sum Assured Additions on every premium paid

— Launched two flexible ULIPs in line with the new regulatory guidelines

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited – a joint venture between two of India’s largest public sector banks, Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, and HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited, has established itself amongst the top ten private life insurance players in India within 26 months of launch based on the latest fiscal year to date new Weighted Premium Income data published by the IRDA. Focusing exclusively on distributing through its shareholders and their associated companies, this achievement further testifies the strength of the bancassurance model in efficiently reaching both urban and rural customers.

With the 13-month persistency ratio ranging between 44-77% for private players, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company achieved the highest 13-month persistency ratio amongst private players for April–June 2010 at 88%.

Speaking on the achievement, Mr. Harpal Karlcut, Chief Executive Officer, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company, said: “One of the key metrics of quality of sale and customer satisfaction is persistency. High persistency is a reflection of the customers’ trust in the Company and its products and services. Service initiatives like validation calling to capture correct customer data, welcome calling to initiate a human relationship with the customer and ensure he/she has understood the product they have purchased and a multi-lingual resolution (call) centre have helped the Company achieve the highest 13-month persistency ratio for April-June quarter. More interactive features have also been included in the new website and a customer portal launched recently.”

In order to maintain high customer satisfaction levels, the Company under its SMART Solutions umbrella has launched three products – one traditional endowment plan and two ULIPs in line with the new regulatory guidelines. Based on research, the SMART Solutions category takes into account the shifting preferences of customers regarding life insurance and long term savings, with focus on lifecycle and lifestyle needs through simple and intelligent customization.

The two ULIPs – Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Grow Smart Plan and Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Dream Smart Plan are equipped with investment friendly features and provide flexibility to the customers to increase or decrease life cover as per their changing lifestyle needs. The traditional product, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Secure Smart Plan, is targeted at customers who want life cover but are not comfortable with market-linked savings and for whom safety and building a corpus through regular systematic savings is important. All products are designed with emphasis on the primary objective of Life Insurance which is protection along with long term wealth creation.

Mr. Karlcut said: “At Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company, all products have been designed on the basis of consumer insights gathered through extensive customer research. The products provide comprehensive and flexible solutions to help customers fulfil their primary need of protection along with an opportunity to meet their financial needs through long term wealth creation. The products have been tailor-made to cater to the insurance needs of customers through transparency of features and simplicity of purchasing and servicing them.”

Mr Karlcut further added: “Using the SMART Solutions umbrella, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company aims to provide smart choices and cater to the diverse financial needs of the customers across different segments, at various life stages.”

Inspiring trust by continuing a tradition of the shareholding banks delivering products and services with strong customer value, the new life insurance plans are available pan-India through the 5,500 bank branches of Canara Bank, HSBC, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Pragathi Gramin Bank, Shreyas Gramin Bank, South Malabar Gramin Bank and HSBCInvestDirect Securities (India) Limited.