Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday officially confirmed media reports of its possible foray into the health insurance sector. In a regulatory filing, the life insurance PSU said, “…we hereby clarify that Life Insurance Corporation of India (the Corporation) is in advanced talks with a standalone health insurance company to acquire substantial stake, to broaden Corporation’s footprint in the health insurance market.”
LIC further stated that the Corporation is still in advanced talks and no binding agreement has been entered into. “The execution and ultimate consummation of the deal is subject to various factors, including approval of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, regulatory approvals and other approvals, if any, before executing any binding agreements,” it said, while maintaining that there can be no guarantee or assurance of the execution/ consummation of the potential deal.
“The Corporation will make appropriate disclosure in compliance with applicable laws, as and when required,” it concluded.
Earlier, a report by CNBC-TV18 stated that LIC CEO Siddhartha Mohanty has said that the firm is all set to foray into the health insurance sector with the PSU in advanced stages of discussions on acquiring a health insurer. He had further maintained that LIC aims to finalise and announce the acquisition before March 31, while maintaining that LIC will not hold a majority stake in the company it is planning to acquire.