'We might not necessarily see a consolidation in the industry'

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: for a long term. That is the strength of the Ulip. Also, it provides you the flexibility to move across asset classes. So, I think the Ulips are absolutely customer-friendly, they are driven by customer requirements and the choice is in the hands of the customers.

How have you observed the switches among various Ulip options in the current volatile market?

In this period of market correction, we have we have seen people moving out of equities into debt. So, these are knowledgeable investors. They understand, they move out. But people new to this are willing to buy Ulips with maximum equity exposure at this low level of the Sensex. Because they believe that this is the right time to enter in a long-term scenario. If you want to believe everything we breed in then media, then Ulips have been forced seven or eight years unless, it was a basic requirement of the customer.

How many players do you expect to enter the life insurance sector in the next five years?

Currently, we have 21 life insurance companies. I believe there are five other companies, which are waiting to start off by the end of the financial year. I am not sure, in the next five years we might see many more players. We might get half a dozen more players coming in, but I think what you might also see is a change of hands, a change of promoters. We might not necessarily see a consolidation in the industry, but partners being changed.

Such a development may happen as some promoters might lose their patience, because this is a long-term business and they may wish to get out. There are others who may wish to get in because they believe that in the long run, insurance and pension offer a huge opportunity for financial services companies. So, there will be two people with two different sets of views on what the market is about. And so, there will be sellers and there will be buyers. So, I think, there might be a change of hands in promoters.

But, can there be a consolidation?