Kishore Biyani’s Future Group is likely to form a joint venture (JV) with Italy's Generali Group to foray into the insurance distribution business, sources close to the development told CNBC-TV18.

Future Group is likely to hold a 51 percent stake in the JV whereas the foreign partner, Generali Group would hold the remaining, said the sources.

Future Group, which owns and operates Big Bazaar, Nilgiris 1905, HyperCity, has informally reached out to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) expressing its intention to set up a corporate agency in order to foray into the insurance distribution business.

According to the sources, Future Group is expected to file papers for its insurance distribution business with IRDAI by December and plans to start operations by the end of the current financial year.

Future Group’s foray into the insurance distribution business will be extremely beneficial to the life and general insurance subsidiaries operated by the retail giant as the two subsidiaries will be able to distribute their insurance products through approximately 1,035 retail stores operated in 321 Indian cities by Future Group.

It would also open another stream of income for the group in the form of commission as the new insurance distribution agency will be able to tie-up with three life, general and standalone health insurance companies to distribute their insurance products as well.

Earlier this month, Flipkart announced its entry into insurance offerings, starting with mobile phone.

Strengthening The Distribution Strength of Future Group’s Insurance Subsidiaries

LARGE FORMAT STORES:

Big Bazaar, Hypercity- 285 outlets

FBB- 61 outlets

Foodhall- 10 outlets

SMALL FORMAT STORES

Easyday, Heritage Fresh- 666 outlets

Ezone- 13 outlets

**Future Group Operates 1,035 Retail Outlets In 321 Cities

Have you signed up for Primo, our daily newsletter? It has all the stories and data on the market, business, economy and tech that you need to know.

First Published:Oct 23, 2018 11:34 AM IST