Chennai: The juggernaut may start slowly, but when it does roll, it rapidly acquires momentum. That is what seems to be at The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the area of bancassurance.

The country's oldest, and largest, life insurer has started late tying up with banks for selling its policies. But it is going great guns in terms of roping in new partners and notching up business.

The latest news is that the Pune-based Bank of Maharashtra is likely to be LIC's new bancassurance partner. The bank is one of the few nationalised banks that does not have an insurance tie-up.

According to LIC officials, talks are on with Bank of Maharashtra and an announcement could be expected soon. According to industry sources, the bank was earlier seriously considering the tie-up with a private insurer as a partner but did a rethink.

It may be recalled that the Bank of Rajasthan did not renew its bancassurance agreement with Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited and instead signed up with LIC. Recently, the insurer also signed up with IndusInd Bank.

LIC has signed bancassurance deals with 34 banks. According to managing director K Sridhar, the expected premium income from bancassurance mode will be around Rs800 crore, by March 2006. "Till October, this fiscal, around Rs100 crore premium has been earned from the bancassurance channel. There are around 15,000 bank branches with our partners and the reach will be leveraged in selling life insurance policies."

Last fiscal, LIC earned Rs140 crore premium income from the banking channel.

According to Sridhar, LIC has earned around Rs6,600 crore from fresh sales this year till October 31, 2005. "Nearly 40 per cent of the new business is contributed by our unit- linked policies."

On the investment side, the corporation's total portfolio is likely to cross Rs1 lakh crore this fiscal.

Meanwhile, LIC has launched a new single premium money back policy called Bima Bachat. The policy is targeted at people aged between 15 and 66 years. The minimum sum assured is Rs20,000 with no upper limit. A prospect could choose any one of the three terms - of nine years, 12 or 15 years.

In order to sell large sized policies, a premium discount of 5 per cent is offered if the sum assured is between Rs50,000 and Rs95,000; 7 per cent where the sum assured falls between Rs1 lakh and Rs1.95 lakh and 8 per cent where is sum assured is over Rs2 lakh.

The policyholder will be returned 15 per cent of the sum assured at the end of third, sixth, ninth and 12th year of the policy. In the case where a policyholder dies, the sum assured plus accumulated bonus will be paid to the nominee / legal heir.