Live Life Kingsize

Contai in coastal Midnapore, population just over 8 lakh, is a typically nondescript Indian district town: narrow lanes, grimy drains, clogged traffic, hot and dusty. But appearances can be deceptive. For the town has the largest number of life insurance policy-holders in the country. For the third year running, the Contai branch of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has done the most business, in terms of new policies—a whopping 50,367 policies in 2001-02.

The figures are mind-boggling. The Howrah division of the LIC, under which Contai falls, has totted up the maximum volume of business—over Rs 3,943 crore for the year, with 6,06,401 new policies registered, breaking records for 100 divisions in the country. (Eastern India, by the way, has remained the strongest among LIC's seven business zones with over 56 lakh policies sold last year.) Selling life insurance is also a flourishing source of livelihood here: 3,250 additional agents were appointed in the Howrah division last year; and this year, 6,000 more will be needed to service the growing demand. One agent in the division has himself sold 15,000 policies with an assured sum of Rs 104 crore. Crorepati agents are dime a dozen. "Our target for 2002-2003 is an ambitious 100,000 policies. I think we will achieve the target," says R. Satpathy, LIC development officer at Contai.

So what makes a place like Contai, a four-hour drive from Calcutta, stand out in the life insurance business? Clearly, there is no greater threat to life for its residents—the town is a perfectly peace-loving place. But it's well connected, close to Digha, a campy but bustling beachfront tourist destination, and Shankarpur, a growing fishing hub. It also boasts a hardworking local population. This has made it a rare thriving town in West Bengal. Says agent Badal Sheat: "Time was when this place was predominantly rural and backward. But now Contai has really grown. People are earning and saving more."

Contai's transition from dust bowl to booming commercial centre took around a decade. But the economic development and prosperity that followed was no flash in the pan. "We aren't surprised that Contai should lead in terms of number of policies because we could sense the enormous economic potential of the place in recent years," says S. Roy Choudhury, former head of LIC's Howrah division.

The majority of the population (over 2.5 lakh people) here is engaged in agriculture. There is seasonal production of rice, vegetables, jute, cashew nuts and flowers. Cashew and flowers are exported, like much of the fish catch. The average monthly earnings of the farmers range between Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000. The service sector has developed in a major way, with people investing in real estate, restaurants and the transport sector. There are some 3,500 teachers earning anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 every month. The average monthly income of some 55,000 residents engaged in the services sector works out to anything between Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000. There are around 100,000 small businesses earning between Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,000 a month. In economically depressed West Bengal, Contai is clearly a standout town with a solidly middle-class population.

But there are several hundreds of such towns in India where residents have similar incomes and engage in similar economic activities. So why does a life insurance explosion happen in Contai? LIC officials point to the specific behaviour attitudes of the residents. "They are more concerned with savings than consumption. Elsewhere, not many businessmen go in for insurance except minimally. But here, even owners of fishing trawlers, who employ between 200 and 300 people, invest major sums with us. They put priority on security.Until recently, many chit funds and non-banking companies were active. Gradually their hold weakened, as some went out of business, people burnt their fingers and learnt a bitter lesson. Our relentless campaign even in the village interiors paid off...we stressed on the official security in a policy," says development officer Parthasarathi Das.

Clearly, Contai residents, with their reasonably high incomes and savings, prefer security and assured returns over making quick profits with fly-by-night high-interest non-banking financial institutions. Listen to Madan Burman, 29, who took his first policy in 1993. "I lost some savings when I invested with a private chit fund. But life insurance with LIC is very transparent. I feel safe." Amen to that.