HDFC Standard Life Insurance has posted a 65 per cent growth in premium income at Rs 66 crore (Rs 660 million) during the first half of this fiscal, its CEO Deepak Satwalekar said on Tuesday.

The company has so far sold 280,000 policies with a sum assured of Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion), of which Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) came from the Delhi zone.

"Our new product launches in the coming months should propel us further on the growth path," Satwalekar said, adding the company's new business premium income surged by 65 per cent to Rs 66 crore during April-September 2003.

He attributed the growth to sale of its new children's plan and group insurance business.

The surge in business was attained after the life insurer's bancassurance ties with HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India and Indian Bank.

The joint venture between HDFC and American insurer Standard Life plans to strengthen the bancassurance ties by launching specialised products, which would complement the existing basket of products.

"We expect the share of corporate agency and bancassurance channels to increase from 15 per cent as of last fiscal to about 30 per cent by the end of this fiscal," Satwalekar said.