Reliance Life Insurance’s chief executive of three years, Anup Rau has quit the company, said three people familiar with the development.
Rau’s exit from the company comes after it posted a Rs 200 crore loss for fiscal year 2016 and a possible dispute over priorities of the company as competition cripples growth, they added.
“Anup Rau has put in his papers that he quits due to differences over business goals with the management,” said one of the people cited above. “Rau’s focus was on improving reserves and persistency.”
The company declined to comment about the issue and Anup Rau did not respond to calls and messages.
Indian life insurers are getting squeezed by competition from HDFC Life, Max, and Prudential who have turned aggressive after the government increased foreign direct investment to 49% from 26%.
Reliance Life’s persistency, the proportion of policies that are kept alive, rose to 60% from 57% a year earlier. Yet another reason for the loss has also been a fall in income from unclaimed premium lying with the company.
