Pension products. Mortgage redemption cover. Unit-linked products. These are some of the insurance 'goodies' that can be expected to come from HDFC Standard Life Insurance, the 82:18 insurance joint venture between housing financing major HDFC and the UK-based insurance major, Standard Life Insurance.

Pension products are expected to come by October this year, and mortgage redemption covers, towards the end of the year. A little later, we can expect market related unit-linked products. "The pension business has enormous potential, as less than 10 per cent of the Indian workforce is covered by pension", enthused Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC Standard Life Insurance.

He was in Pune, to launch the company's new branch - it's sixth in the country - and a new insurance product, the Group Term Insurance, that caters to the needs of the corporate sector to cover their employees under one umbrella insurance scheme. "Need" is the factor that HDFC Standard Life is hinging its business on, making its products meet the differing needs of the customers, and structuring the product accordingly.

"With pension products, we will need to separate out the two parts -- of accumulation, during the saving period, and annuity, when you begin the pay-out," says Mr. Parekh. This kind of bifurcated pattern is what the company plans to pursue for pension products, although the final shape is yet to be decided.

The other area is that of mortgage redemption, where it can be seen to have an edge over the competition, given its pool of housing loan customers in flagship HDFC. "Mortgage redemption is a big business overseas, we shall try to bring it here in the last quarter of this year," Mr. Parekh said. The focus would be on the capital component of the loans, particularly housing loans. However, the fact that the portion of the capital, in addition to the interest component was included for tax relief in India, this element too had to be factored in into any scheme, according to him.

The strategy adopted by HDFC Standard Life to attract customers has been through customisation of its products. Its earlier products, the Endowment and the Money Back policies came with the facility to customise, as does its latest product, Group Term Insurance. Endowment and Money Back plans come with additional benefits such as critical illness, double sum assured, accidental death benefit and waiver of premium, which the customer can mix and match, as he or she wishes.

" Like our other insurance products, this product too is highly customisable," says Deepak Satwalekar, managing director and chief executive officer, HDFC Standard Life. Thus, the Group Term Insurance can be availed for a number of uses including providing insurance cover to its employees, which it can extend wherever it has given out housing or other loans. Besides being a pure life cover, it also has in-built flexibility, where the employer can opt for extendable facilities under the scheme, be it to cover the loans extended, or to include other employees during the period of cover, to adjust premium, link them to salary, or slabs or the number of people , as well as the size of the cover.

Mr. Satwalekar admits that the innovativeness of a product lasts only as long as a clone enters the market, hence the difference has to be in the delivery. "We have tried to customise our products to the need of individuals, adding features to make them useful by meeting individual requirements".

"Nobody 'buys' insurance, it has to be sold," says Mr. Satwalekar, underlining the fundamental difference in the market for insurance and other financial instruments. Which is why HDFC Standard Life agents -- called financial consultants -- will be specially trained to project their products as combined blessings -- for protection, savings, and tax breaks.

The company has set itself a target of 25,000 policies in the first year (it began operations in December 2000), one million to be achieved before the end of the fifth year. "In the initial period, our focus will be to build up the infrastructure, processes and capacities," says Mr. Parekh.

However the insurance business is a complex one, he admits, and affirms that any player in the industry has to offer innovative products as well as credibility. "The average life period of an insurance product being 21 years, individuals look at the company offering the product with a long term view. Will the company be around when the policy matures? Will it deliver? These are some of the questions that customers want answered," he says. "Hence, unlike other financial products, customers also look for the integrity and credibility of the company."