Renowned Asian insurance giant, AIA Group Ltd. has reported a profit of $1.31 billion for December-May, a significant increase of $1.06 billion as compared to year back. Asian market can be considered as a battleground for insurance companies such as AIA and its rivals Prudential and China's Ping An.

The American International Group Inc. has spun off the Asian life Insurance unit, which owns a third part of company. During the last year, it had succeeded to raise more than $20 billion in a Hong Kong offering and helped the shareholders to repay the US government.

Your premium on life insurance plans can climb up or returns on life insurance plans may decline by 0.5% to 0.75% with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee bringing services by life insurance firms in the area of investment in the reach of service tax.

With the aim to boost the pertinacity or continuity of life insurance plans by clients, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked insurance brokers to sell more plans annually.

American International Group, the world’s leading insurance and financial services organization, reached a deal to sell another unit on Wednesday.

The battered insurance giant will sell its AIG Systems Solutions Pvt. Ltd., an India-based company, which offers up IT services to AIG companies across the world, to MphasiS, of Chennai, India.

MphasiS, a unit of Hewlett Packard's Electronic Data Systems, stated that around 39% of its income comes from financial services and insurance companies.

SBI Life Insurance Company, an arm of State Bank of India, has announced that it has rolled out `Grameen Shakti` scheme for SHGs in Tamil Nadu (TN) and Puducherry.

SHGs are known as the Self Help Groups.

According to the sources, the conglomerate plans to bring about 0.3 million SHGs under its insurance network in Tamil Nadu.

The company claims that the proposed scheme has got marvellous response in Orissa and a few other states in the country.

Medical care provider Apollo Health and Lifestyle has announced that it intends to pump around Rs 1,400 crore in the coming three to four fiscals on diversifying its footprints across the country with its different formats.

According to the sources, the conglomerate will pump Rs 600 crore in developing around 30 hospitals in Tier II cities across the country under the brand 'Reach Hospitals' and Rs 600 crore to enhance the number of Apollo Clinics to 300 in a period of three to four years.

The government approved the much-awaited comprehensive Insurance Bill that seeks to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in private sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.

Briefing the media, Finance minister, P.Chidambaram said, “The Cabinet gave its approval for introduction of the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2008, for amendment to Insurance Act, 1938, General Insurance Business Act, 1972, and Insurance Regulatory and Development Act, 1999, in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of the recommendations made by the GoM.”