
The 16 crore policy holders of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) were given a 50th-year birthday gift in the form of a special bonus on their policies, which were valid till March 31, 2005.
The special bonus was announced by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram at the golden jubilee celebrations of LIC here on Thursday.
Giving details, the FM said for the policies that were taken before 1981, the policy holders would be entitled for a bonus of Rs 50 per Rs 1,000 of the sum assured, while for the policies held between 1981 and 2001, the rate of bonus would be Rs 6 to Rs 45 per Rs 1,000 of the assured sum.
For policies taken after 2001, a bonus of Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 would be given to holders, he added. Chidambaram said Rs 2,100 crore had been set aside by LIC for the special bonus to its policy holders.
Stating that the insurance major had become a synonym for strengthening the economic fibre of the country, the finance minister said the corporation today boasted of over 2,000 branches of which 99 per cent were fully computerised, settling one crore claims every year. The LIC’s golden jubilee policy, ‘Bima Gold’ was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.