New Delhi, Oct. 13 -- ICICI Life Insurance Co. Ltd, formerly ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, has put forward credit life insurance as an important protection product for Indian borrowers, even as the insurance regulator proposes to sharply cut the commissions lenders earn for selling it. Credit life cover pays off a borrower's outstanding loan if they die during the loan term.

Speaking on the company's earnings call on Tuesday, Amish Banker, life insurer's chief distribution officer, said the product "provides a very important societal need in a country", particularly for low-income borrowers whose loans may not be backed by an asset. For such borrowers, the need for credit life "becomes even more acute to avoid any severe social fallou...