The disruption caused by the coronavirus’ spread and the pandemic-induced lockdown resulted in the life insurance industry losing around four million policies and premiums of around Rs 45,000 crore, said Raj Kumar, managing director of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). Speaking at an event organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry on post-Covid challenges and opportunities for the industry, Kumar said: “The industry as a whole lost four million policies and around Rs 15,000 crore of new business premium. Since the lockdown happened, people were saving money for necessities. So, around Rs 30,000 crore of…

Fitch Solutions has revised downward its forecast for fuel demand contraction in India to 11.5 per cent in 2020 in line with further deterioration in the country’s economic outlook. Its economists forecast India’s real GDP to contract by 8.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 2020 to March 2021), down from -4.5 per cent previously. “Demand weakness is spread across the board, with both consumer and industrial fuels set for the steep decline,” Fitch Solutions said in a note. “We have made a further downward revision to our India refined fuels demand…

You can use these same tactics to earn more customers.Free Book Preview Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing This book takes readers through a 360-degree perspective of social media marketing in businesses. September 18, 2020 6 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Scott Greenberg’s Wealthy Franchisee: Game-Changing Steps to Becoming a Thriving Franchise Superstar will be released via Entrepreneur Press on November 17. It can be preodered via Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Politicians must do more than serve. They also have to sell. They’ve got to get the job before they can do it.…

It’s now been several months since companies first implemented their COVID-19 crisis response initiatives. Although in many parts of the world the virus continues to present serious health and economic challenges, company leaders must balance such urgencies with the need to take a longer-term view of their company’s prospects. To better understand this dynamic, PwC recently conducted a CEO Panel SurveyPDF, asking nearly 700 CEOs how their company’s business model will change after the pandemic. Their responses spoke volumes about how the future of work is likely to evolve. As the leaders of small private firms and US$1 billion-plus public…

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were on a roll on Friday, with the S&P BSE Healthcare index surging over 3 per cent to hit a record on the back of positive news flow. Twelve stocks, including Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Laurus Labs, Cipla, Biocon, Divi’s Laboratories, FDC, Granules India and Apollo Hospitals scaled their respective records, while eight other stocks — Lupin, Cadila Healthcare, Natco Pharma, Stride Pharma, Neuland Labs, Lincoln Pharma and Hikal — hit their respective 52-week highs on the BSE. The S&P BSE Healthcare index, the top gainer among sectoral…

September 17, 2020 6 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Covid-19 has significantly changed business-to-business marketing plans. As Forrester noted recently, “It’s more than a combination of discrete trends such as rising bounce rates, declining open rates, or increasing churn; it’s that buyers now expect a fundamentally different relationship with your company.” Consequently, creating compelling, relevant and consistent content is a highly effective way to attract and retain your audience’s attention, gain their trust, and, ultimately, to convert them to customers.  In a world full of false advertising and eroding trust, content marketing should be at…

Regulator Irdai is mulling over a plan to allow the tenure extension of COVID-19 specific insurance products as the vaccine for the disease is seemingly away by some more time, its chairman Subhash C Khuntia said on Thursday. Besides, the insurance sector watchdog is also working towards facilitating a standard product for coronavirus, which will be easy to understand by policyholders and will not require “voluminous policy documents”. “With regard to extending the tenure of the COVID-19 related products, we are hoping that the vaccine would not be delayed for too…

Happiest Minds Technologies had a stellar stock market debut on Thursday, with the IT firm’s shares closing 123 per cent above the IPO price. Compared to the issue price of Rs 166, the stock closed at Rs 371 on the NSE, where shares worth Rs 1,945 crore changed hands. This was the best debut for an IPO since IRCTC in October 2019, when shares of the state-owned firm gained 127 per cent on day one. Further, this was among the best day-one performances for an IT company since HCL Technologies’ listing…