Insurance for her family, too

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 8: State Bank of India and its insurance arm, SBI Life, today launched a micro-insurance product, “Grameen Shakti”, for members of self-help groups on pilot basis in the state.

The micro-insurance product will be gradually extended to other parts of the country, said SBI Life managing director and CEO U.S. Roy at the launching ceremony.

Finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei launched the product at Itipur village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar amid the presence of 2,000-odd self-help group leaders. Grameen Shakti is a pure-term insurance product with provision for 50 per cent return of premium. The product aims at providing insurance cover of Rs 25,000 to economically weaker sections of the society through an affordable premium of Rs 301 per annum. The term of the policy will be for five years.

“It’s a unique product which provides the family members protection and survival benefits to the policy holders,” said an SBI Life official at the function.

State women and child development secretary Mona Sharma said other banks would follow suit and help self-help groups in marketing their products through corporate patronage and tie up with business houses.

Roy said his organisation’s foray into micro-insurance with the SBI signifies its commitment to reach out weaker sections of the society across the country and provide them protection. “We are confident that SBI’s extensive network will enable them to offer protection to the segment that will benefit from it,” said Roy.

SBI Orissa circle’s chief general manager M.N. Rao said his bank was committed to the economic development of the weaker sections.