ICICI Prudential Life Insurance may undergo a rebranding by dropping the ‘Prudential’ name as one of its promoters, Prudential Corporation Holdings, seeks to be reclassified from a ‘promoter’ to an ‘investor’. The move could bring to a close a 25-year brand association that helped make ICICI Prudential one of India’s most recognised names in life insurance.

Prudential Corporation Holdings (Prudential) and ICICI Bank, the two promoters of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, on Saturday entered into a letter of undertaking under which Prudential will apply to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) to be reclassified from a ‘promoter’ to an ‘investor’ under the regulator’s norms.

The undertaking also sets out the rights of ICICI Bank and Prudential from the date of submission of the reclassification application until the proposed transaction is completed.

“In the event the Company decides to change its name to remove the word “Prudential” in view of the reclassification, Prudential will undertake necessary steps to support the Company,” ICICI Prudential Life said in an exchange filing. Prudential will also coordinate with the company on matters including the transition and/or limited usage of the “Prudential” brand name and the iciciprulife.com domain name.

As per the undertaking, Prudential will abstain from voting on matters requiring a special resolution, provided such resolutions do not adversely affect its rights or interests in the company. It will also arrange for the resignation of its nominee director from the board with effect from the date the company approves the reclassification application.

As of March 31, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s board comprised five independent directors, three non-executive non-independent directors and Managing Director & CEO Anup Bagchi. Prudential plc’s Regional CEO Naveen Tahilyani is the sole non-executive director representing Prudential Corporation Holdings on the board.

In May, Prudential announced the acquisition of a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Company for ₹3,500 crore. At the time, Prudential plc said regulatory approvals for the Bharti Life transaction would require it to reduce its shareholding in ICICI Prudential Life to below 10%.

“To mitigate any potential conflict of interest in the management of the Company pursuant to the Proposed Transaction, the Bank and Prudential have entered into a Letter of Undertaking today,” ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said in its latest filing.

As of June 2026, Prudential held a 21.89% stake in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, while ICICI Bank owned 50.84%. Public shareholders, including institutional investors such as mutual funds and retail investors, held the remaining 27.20%.

Once Prudential’s reclassification from ‘promoter’ to ‘investor’ takes effect, ICICI Bank will vote in favour of appointing or replacing one director nominated by Prudential on the company’s board, subject to Prudential holding a 10% stake in the company and neither retaining promoter status nor holding more than a 10% stake in another life insurance company in India.

If the company proceeds with the rebranding, it would mark the disappearance of another legacy insurance brand in India. Last year, Bajaj Finserv rebranded its life and general insurance subsidiaries by dropping the ‘Allianz’ name after acquiring Allianz’s 26% stake in the two joint ventures in a ₹21,390-crore buyout. The companies were subsequently renamed from Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company.