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Oct 11, 2025
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GST amortisation on distribution costs will offer breather for life insurers: Kamlesh Rao
Life insurers have urged the government and regulator to allow amortisation of distribution costs to offset the impact of GST rate cut on life policies. Insurance Awareness Committee (IAC-Life) chairperson Kamlesh Rao tells Narayanan V about the GST impact, the ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’ campaign, and other industry issues. Excerpts:
What is the status of the ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’ campaign?
The Life Insurance Council started this campaign with a commitment from all life insurance companies to run it consistently for at least three years. Our research shows that awareness of life insurance is not a problem at all. The bigger challenge is converting awareness into consideration. So, our campaign now focuses on product categories like term, savings, and retirement. We also talk about child plans because research shows financial well-being is top of mind for consumers, with children’s financial planning being the second largest priority. The first phase of the campaign is nearing its end. Normally, the second phase would have begun around December or January. But with the government making the GST on life insurance zero, we are evaluating if this is the right time to highlight the benefits to the customers. The GST rate cut has given new talking points to distributors. My sense is the renewed vigour in distribution will help them reach out to far more people, prospecting will rise, and if throughput is managed well, the industry will benefit immensely.
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