NEW DELHI: Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday announced that it has signed an agreement with Toronto-based Manulife to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture, with both partners committing an investment of ₹3,600 crore each.
The new venture aims to strengthen the companies’ presence in India and reflects their commitment to improving customers’ financial wellbeing in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. According to a company statement, the vision is to become a leading life insurer in rural and semi-urban India while also expanding its protection-focused offerings for urban customers.
Each partner will commit up to ₹3,600 crore (USD 400 million), with an expected investment of ₹1,250 crore (USD 140 million) from each side in the first five years.
Subject to regulatory approval, the venture will build on the existing partnership between Mahindra and Manulife, following the successful establishment of Mahindra Manulife Investment Management in 2020.
Mahindra Group CEO & MD Anish Shah said life insurance is a natural extension of the group’s financial services portfolio. “Mahindra’s brand strength, deep rural and semi-urban distribution, and execution excellence make this a logical step. Manulife is the ideal partner, given its global expertise in insurance products, underwriting, and reinsurance,” he noted. He added that the joint venture will leverage technology to create an efficient, customer-centric insurer.
Manulife President and CEO Phil Witherington said the partnership marks an important expansion into one of the world’s fastest-growing insurance markets. “We have a trusted partner in the Mahindra Group, with whom we already collaborate in asset management. We see significant opportunity to scale further by combining their distribution network with our agency capabilities and insurance expertise,” he said.
With the pact signed, the two companies will now jointly apply for an insurance licence.
India’s life insurance market has crossed USD 20 billion in new business premiums and has grown at a 12% CAGR over the past five years. Despite this growth, the country still has a large protection gap and low insurance penetration, offering strong long-term potential. India is projected to become the world’s fastest-growing life insurance market over the next decade and the fourth-largest globally, supported by strong GDP growth, a rising middle class, and a favourable regulatory environment.
As of end-2024, Manulife Financial Corporation employed over 37,000 people, had more than 109,000 agents and thousands of distribution partners, and served over 36 million customers across Canada, Asia, Europe, and the US.
