SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between the State Bank of India (SBI) and Cardif SA of France, registered with an authorized capital of Rs. 500 cr and a paid-up capital of Rs. 500 cr. SBI owns 74% of the total capital and Cardif owns the remaining 26%.

The mission of SBI Life Insurance is to emerge as the leading insurance company offering a comprehensive range of life insurance and pension products at competitive prices, ensuring high standards of customer service and world-class operating efficiency. The company plans to make the insurance buying process quick, simple and based on well-informed judgment. In 2004, SBI Life Insurance became the first company amongst private insurance players to cover the life of 60 lakh policyholders.

SBI Life Insurance is uniquely placed as a pioneer to usher bancassurance into India. The company hopes to extensively utilize the SBI Group as a platform for cross-selling insurance products along with its numerous banking product packages such as housing loans, personal loans and credit cards. SBI's access to over 100 million accounts provides a vibrant base to build insurance selling across every region and economic strata in the country.

The company expects to carve a niche in the Indian insurance market through extensive product innovation and aims to provide the highest standards of customer service through a technological interface. To facilitate this, call centers have already been installed; help lines will be installed and customers will have access to their accounts through the Internet. The company proposes to make available ready liquidity to its life insurance policies by way of loans at SBI counters. This will make life insurance a liquid asset in the financial portfolio of households.