New Delhi: Leading private sector insurer Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) plans to hire about 1,000 employees for its new distribution channel Life Plaza by March, 2013.

RLIC, part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group's financial services arm Reliance Capital, is also setting up close to 200 branches across the country under the newly-launched distribution model, Life Plaza, a first-of-its-kind sales and service initiative by any insurer in India.

"We are hiring people for our new sales format Life Plaza and have plans to recruit about 1,000 people for this vertical in the next five months," RLIC President and Executive Director Malay Ghosh told PTI.

"Simultaneously, the company is in the process of setting up around 200 Life Plaza branches. We hope to complete this exercise by this fiscal-end," he said.

He said all 1,000 people will be recruited on salary-cum- variable incentive plan under Life Plaza vertical.

Apart from recruiting 1,000 people for Life Plaza, RLIC is also hiring 50,000 insurance advisers by 2012-13. The company has already recruited over 10,000 advisers and is in the process of hiring another 40,000 in the next few months.

With a clear focus on smaller cities and towns, he said, Reliance Life would capitalise on on Tier-II, Tier-III and Tier-IV cities for recruitment and setting up of Life Plazas.

Billed as a need-based in-branch sales platform, 'Life Plaza' aims to create awareness about life insurance and fulfilling the needs of prospective customers through financial planning with an array of products and services.

RLIC is the first Indian insurer to set up a structured need-based in-branch sales platform, which is based on the distribution model's success in Japan by Nippon Life, which is a strategic partner in Reliance Life with a 26 per cent stake.

Looking to replicate the success of Japanese model, Ghosh said the new platform would also address the problem of mis- selling as the process of selling will ensure that customer buy only what he/she needs and understands.

"The main objective of our new distribution format is to generate greater awareness about life insurance in and around different locations where Life Plazas will operate and create a buzz among potential customers for life insurance products," Ghosh said.

All Life Plazas will be managed by RLIC employees, who will handle customers' queries and process the documentation instantly at the venue, with a view to tapping new customers and also providing service to existing RLIC policyholders.