- 3 years ago
The Coronavirus has triggered behavioral changes in customer preferences. Seasoned executives will discuss insurers’ efforts in digital enablement for moving several notches up the customer-friendliness scale. They will explain how technology can be leveraged for greater customer awareness.
Rajiv Gupta, Executive Director, LIC of India
Tapan Singhel,MD & CEO Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Yashish Dahiya, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Policybazaar
Moderator: N Mahalakshmi, Editor, Outlook Business
#Money #OutlookMoney #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
Rajiv Gupta, Executive Director, LIC of India
Tapan Singhel,MD & CEO Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Yashish Dahiya, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Policybazaar
Moderator: N Mahalakshmi, Editor, Outlook Business
#Money #OutlookMoney #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
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NewsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back.
00:13 Our next panel is on driving growth
00:16 through customer centricity and digitization.
00:19 I have with me three very eminent panelists again.
00:22 Tapan Singhal, Managing Director and CEO of Bajaj Alliance.
00:27 Mr. Rajiv Gupta, Head CRM for LIC of India
00:31 and Yashish Dhaiya, Founder and CEO of Policy Bazaar.
00:36 So my first question I would pose to Mr. Gupta,
00:42 LIC has been, you know, singularly responsible
00:49 for a deep penetration of insurance products.
00:53 Of course, in most other products compared to the world,
00:57 insurance still comes ahead.
01:01 And LIC has been singularly responsible for that.
01:04 Of course, the private sector guys have done a great job
01:08 since the sector has been privatized.
01:10 Tell us in the context of COVID, what has changed at LIC?
01:15 And pre-COVID over the last two, three years,
01:20 what have been the key customer initiatives
01:23 that you have spearheaded?
01:27 - Yeah, good afternoon.
01:30 Thank you for having me on the show.
01:33 The COVID-19 pandemic, no one was expecting it.
01:38 It was completely coming out of the blue.
01:42 As to any other industry,
01:48 similarly, life insurance industry was impacted.
01:52 And the pandemic has thrown a light on the importance
01:55 of life insurance and health insurance.
01:58 With people cutting across age groups,
02:03 being affected by COVID-19,
02:06 people have begun to understand
02:07 the importance of life insurance.
02:09 And it has become an essential part
02:12 of the new reality of our economy in the long term.
02:17 The current pandemic has caused some important change
02:20 in the mindset of the public at large.
02:22 They are now increased,
02:25 there's an increased focus towards saving for the future.
02:28 There's a need for life insurance
02:31 as well as health insurance.
02:33 Earlier, we all know life insurance was always said
02:38 as the product is sold, it is never bought.
02:41 But now people are coming forward,
02:44 buying life insurance from their own.
02:47 And in fact, we have seen that people
02:50 who were already our customers,
02:52 because of any reason,
02:57 the policies has lapsed or something has gone wrong.
03:00 They have come back during this time.
03:02 And they have come forward for revival of the policies.
03:06 And I think the insurers have also responded
03:11 very well to the pandemic,
03:15 and LIC in particular.
03:16 We have to provide anytime and anywhere services
03:20 to our customers.
03:21 We have provided a fully equipped self service portal
03:26 to the customers.
03:27 Need to reduce the physical papers,
03:30 that was felt across because digital was a new way forward.
03:35 So something we did that.
03:40 And in fact, LIC was, I must say,
03:44 by design ready for something like this to happen.
03:49 Because for last many years,
03:51 we were planning and upgrading our services
03:56 and service portal,
03:57 so that we can respond to the customer digitally.
04:02 And unfortunately, this came up,
04:04 but we were right time at the right spot.
04:09 We could respond to all those things.
04:12 I must say our premium collections were very robust,
04:15 even during the pandemic start time.
04:19 Our alternate channels of premium collections
04:23 showed a remarkable growth over last year.
04:27 So all those things were there.
04:29 And I think this pandemic has changed
04:33 the life insurance industry forever.
04:36 And I think maybe something may revert back to the original,
04:42 but many things will never be the same again.
04:44 - Sure, quickly, Tapan, I'll come to you.
04:49 One is this whole trend that Mr. Gupta also expounded on
04:54 that insurance was earlier sold, not bought.
04:59 Post COVID, that scenario has changed.
05:04 Has that been your experience?
05:06 Does that really change because of COVID?
05:10 Is there really fear and care for care
05:15 or need for protection policies more than before COVID?
05:19 That is one.
05:20 And secondly, of course, I want you to talk about,
05:23 because Bajaj Alliance has also been one of the front runners
05:27 in terms of using digital very effectively.
05:31 So tell us a little bit about where we are
05:34 on the digital curve at Bajaj Alliance
05:36 and post COVID, what has really been accelerated?
05:40 - Thank you, Mahalakshmi.
05:41 First and foremost, a big pleasure to be here,
05:43 talking to you and my panelists.
05:45 I think I have amazing panelists here.
05:47 And you know me, I've always have contrarian views.
05:49 So as usual, I have a bit of digression
05:52 from what Mr. Gupta mentioned in terms of the awareness
05:56 is getting created and pushed to pull.
05:58 See, I'll give you some statistics
05:59 because for me, everything is data.
06:01 And Yashesh is here, so I will talk data only,
06:03 otherwise he'll not be happy with me.
06:05 So let's look at some data.
06:07 So in India, you have, let's say, close to 130 crore people.
06:11 Below poverty line, 40 crore in health covered by government.
06:15 Fair enough, so they can't afford, it's okay.
06:18 If you look at all the companies put together
06:20 covering health for how many people?
06:22 About, let's say, 10, 15, 20 crores, you know, whatever.
06:26 So which means that about 60, 70 crore people
06:28 who are not below poverty line are not covered by health.
06:31 Now, the regulator advised insurance companies
06:35 to come up with Corona products,
06:38 and insurance companies did.
06:39 For that, a lot of respect for the industry, you know?
06:41 An industry which knows very well
06:44 that they don't have enough data for pricing it right
06:47 and have no reinsurance support,
06:48 went ahead and offered Corona cover.
06:50 I think it was phenomenal from an industry perspective,
06:51 which people should understand.
06:53 Now let's look at the Corona cover product.
06:55 Two lakhs, some insured, premium,
06:58 ranging from 400 to 700, 800 rupees a year.
07:02 Which means technically,
07:02 we're talking of less than one rupee 50 paisa per day.
07:06 Which nearly everybody can afford.
07:09 Available on all websites.
07:11 So if I look at consumer behavior, Facebook, WhatsApp,
07:15 I get to meet somebody who is not on Facebook or WhatsApp,
07:17 no, minus me, I'm not there, that's a separate issue.
07:20 - I'm also not there.
07:22 - Good, so we start something new.
07:24 But the picture is that,
07:27 which actually means that for a product for Corona,
07:32 for a price which is close to 1.50 rupees a day,
07:36 which can be afforded by anybody,
07:38 and every insurance company has it on their website,
07:41 60 to 70 crore Indians who can afford this and not covered,
07:46 and at huge risk, and the huge awareness level is there.
07:49 If it was a full product,
07:52 the servers of insurance companies would have crashed.
07:54 - Would have crashed, I agree.
07:56 - Would have crashed like crazy, yeah?
07:58 But what else do you want?
07:59 Awareness and speak.
08:01 It can happen to anybody.
08:03 Product is available on websites of all insurance companies.
08:07 Pricing is unbelievable, no?
08:10 And the cost of treatment, if you enter a hospital,
08:12 average is one and a half lakh,
08:14 between one and a half to two lakh.
08:15 It can go to five, 15, 20, expensive.
08:18 And it's available.
08:20 So let's look at the month of April,
08:23 and let's look at retail health growth, no?
08:25 This data is again available.
08:26 Minus 3%, peak of pandemic, yeah?
08:32 Now, if you look at, let's say, May, June, July,
08:34 you see this 40% growth that we're talking about,
08:36 but before that, let's say 25% growth was there.
08:39 15% growth, mostly from whom?
08:42 Distributors.
08:43 How many insurance companies would say
08:46 that customers reach out to them on their website
08:49 to buy Corona, and which is what is feeling this growth?
08:53 Data does not show that consumer behavior has changed
08:56 at this peak of awareness,
08:59 at this peak of people being aware about Corona,
09:01 product may be available, easily available,
09:04 three-click buy, no underwriting.
09:06 No, yes, you'll tell you for Corona cover,
09:08 there's no underwriting, just 15-day waiting, that's it.
09:10 Click buy, any age group, anybody,
09:13 nothing on pricing, nothing.
09:14 You can't have a simpler product.
09:16 You can't have highest regulation
09:20 in terms of giving you that access to get it done.
09:22 You can't have a price that's better than that,
09:23 and you can't have awareness level
09:24 higher than what it is right now, no?
09:27 So data does not show
09:28 that consumer behavior has changed forever.
09:30 There are some blips, there are some things,
09:32 distribution has worked, it's a conversational sale,
09:35 conversation is happening.
09:37 Whenever it's happening, those sales are happening,
09:39 and it's still a push to my knowledge,
09:41 it's not reached a full stage.
09:42 That's the first part of my thought process,
09:44 based on data that I see.
09:46 - Sure, fair enough.
09:47 - The second point on distillation.
09:50 Now that again, before COVID,
09:52 I think I was very amazed
09:55 that irrespective of whatever I try to do,
09:58 and I used to push my IT team
09:59 and my operations team a lot,
10:01 when they used to tell me,
10:02 "Uptake nahi hai, uptake nahi hai,
10:03 we have done so many data tools
10:05 and assets we have created, uptake is not there."
10:07 I was telling them, "Uptake will only happen
10:09 when you make it so convenient for customers
10:12 that they find it much more convenient,
10:13 the existing process,
10:14 otherwise uptake will never happen, no?"
10:16 See, for ATM, nobody had to push, uptake happened, no?
10:18 Even though we still have cashiers, no?
10:19 That again, an interesting data point.
10:21 So I was in Singapore just before lockdown,
10:24 and I saw that 95% of Singapore insurance still on paper.
10:28 So I was very disappointed.
10:30 I think all the-
10:30 - Sorry, 95%, sorry, sorry, come again?
10:32 - Of insurance work in Singapore was on paper.
10:35 A country like Singapore is so distantly advanced, yeah?
10:37 - Right.
10:38 - So I was thinking something is seriously wrong, no?
10:40 Like what else can we do to get this on?
10:43 And when COVID happened, I was amazed.
10:45 Uptake was like fantastic, no?
10:47 - Right.
10:48 - I think my customer grievance,
10:49 and we have one of the lowest customer grievance
10:51 in the industry, dropped by 90%.
10:53 The customer uptake, the distribution uptake,
10:55 the way it happened was phenomenal.
10:56 People are looking for contactless,
10:58 people are looking at paperless,
10:59 and the regulators responded amazing.
11:02 Otherwise, you had to have a wet signature,
11:03 you had to have documents, no?
11:05 To be sent, and they allowed all that to happen,
11:07 and they made the regulations on that.
11:09 So I think the entire environment,
11:11 the way it responded in the COVID,
11:13 now initial COVID stage was phenomenal.
11:16 I think as a country, as an industry,
11:18 and all of us should know, also talk about this.
11:20 It was phenomenal speed at which the response happened.
11:23 Obviously, that was excitement--
11:24 - Just to interrupt you,
11:26 the digitization tools that you're talking about,
11:30 these are for the customers or for the intermediaries?
11:34 - For everybody.
11:35 Malish, one of my passion is that if a change has to happen,
11:39 you can't just touch one segment for a change, no?
11:42 We're not doing end-to-end change.
11:44 - Right.
11:45 - Then you can never expect a change.
11:46 So I think my push has always been
11:48 that you look at the entire ecosystem
11:51 and see that you change for everything,
11:52 and make it convenient.
11:53 So the distribution for customers,
11:54 you'll be happy to note we issued
11:56 over a crore of policies in the lockdown area,
11:59 and issued 30 lakh claims, all digital, no paper.
12:03 So I think because the tools were there,
12:04 uptake happened, and our distributors
12:06 are using video calls to talk to customers,
12:08 send links for closure, no?
12:10 And they actually speak about his experimentation
12:12 of how it all went on pure digital space.
12:15 But that was phenomenal, I think.
12:16 So that may actually be the transformation to happen.
12:19 The push to pull, I'm not so sure,
12:20 but the transformation of digital use
12:23 will actually go up.
12:24 And I think that is something which is going to happen
12:25 through distributors.
12:26 And though customer movement on direct buy
12:30 is still much less compared to what could have happened.
12:33 But yes, that is going to happen.
12:34 Now from pure digital play also,
12:36 we look at from a company like us,
12:38 everything you think about, right?
12:39 You use Alexa, Google Home, chatbots, no voice,
12:44 whatever you think about,
12:45 or a set of claims on the road, no?
12:47 Or your mobile breaks right now,
12:48 you lodge a claim, you transfer money to your account,
12:50 or your flight gets late,
12:51 even if you lodge a claim, we pay you money.
12:53 Anything that you can think of,
12:54 you would be doing that, no?
12:56 But the issue is the consumer usage of those tools, no?
13:01 For the highest of benefit,
13:03 it's something which is industry,
13:04 you have to push more.
13:06 And the consumer should realize that,
13:07 like for any other product,
13:08 when they actually, no?
13:09 I love to dabble in it, understand it.
13:11 Insurance also, if they put some more interest,
13:13 just is amazing place to be in.
13:15 So those are my comments, Malakshmi.
13:18 - Sure, absolutely.
13:19 - Malakshmi, can I make a point?
13:22 What Tapan was saying?
13:24 I would also like to put some data here.
13:27 Maybe we are equating COVID cover with life insurance.
13:33 See, as on 31st October, 2020,
13:37 our first year premium collection is over one lakh crore.
13:42 And that is showing a growth over last year.
13:44 In October, our individual FYP
13:48 showed a growth of over 100% over previous year.
13:51 And our individual FYP overall from April till now,
13:57 in the current FY,
13:58 is showing a growth of 16.5% over previous year.
14:02 Our online policy sold,
14:03 the number has grown by 124%
14:07 and premium by 135%.
14:10 Our annual premium collection
14:12 is showing a healthy growth of over 12%.
14:15 So this is something again,
14:17 maybe trust in LIC plays a very important role over here.
14:22 So just some data from my side.
14:24 - Sure.
14:25 So is this year's growth,
14:27 are you saying has been exceptional
14:30 in the sense that does it match with the,
14:32 for example, the average growth over the last five years?
14:35 Or is this out of chart?
14:37 So you can say that,
14:39 actually it's not extension of a trend,
14:42 but a new trend of greater level of awareness
14:45 and fear psychosis or whatever you may call it.
14:47 - Here I would like to say,
14:50 last year we were doing very well.
14:53 And last year was phenomenal year for us.
14:58 But unfortunately last 15 days we missed out.
15:01 Otherwise, last year would have been one of the best years
15:03 in near history of LIC last five, 10 years.
15:08 And this year is showing growth over last year.
15:11 - Okay.
15:12 - That is amazing.
15:13 - Okay.
15:14 - That is the most important point I would like to make.
15:16 - Okay, okay.
15:18 So while Mr. Gupta and Tapan wrestle over this pull and push,
15:23 Yashish, did your servers crash
15:26 because of people scrambling to buy insurance?
15:28 - About July, it seemed they might.
15:33 - Okay.
15:35 - But I think, see,
15:38 I don't know how to put it,
15:40 with such large organizations that we have,
15:43 both LIC and Bajaj,
15:46 and LIC much more than Bajaj.
15:48 And I think the insurance industry having been around
15:52 for 50, 60 years, maybe more, maybe a hundred years.
15:57 Some of the companies have been there for a hundred years.
15:59 See the actual coverage that the consumer has
16:02 in this country has been very low, extremely low.
16:07 You know, I get saddened a bit,
16:12 and don't take it the wrong way, sirs.
16:14 I get saddened when we think about premium numbers.
16:17 They mean nothing to the consumer.
16:19 That's just consumer money going.
16:20 I think what really matters is what coverage
16:23 does the consumer have?
16:24 Right, what is the sum assured?
16:27 And the sum assured has grown very fast.
16:31 But I want to see those customers
16:34 who bought term insurance before 2008.
16:37 They don't exist.
16:38 Right, so 10 years ago, we did not.
16:42 Why does it take a small company like Policy Bazaar
16:44 to wake up the consumer that please buy term insurance?
16:48 We're a small company, we're nobody.
16:52 Why does it take us, a company like us,
16:55 to spend thousand crore rupees in the market
16:58 telling consumers, please buy health insurance,
17:00 please buy life insurance?
17:01 But for me, life insurance is not,
17:03 it's term insurance.
17:04 Life insurance is not the investment products.
17:05 They're not life insurance to me.
17:07 I know I'm making a very controversial statement here.
17:12 But I think we as an industry have done a disservice
17:17 to the consumer the last 50, 100 years.
17:19 Because today, when the customer went
17:24 during COVID times to hospital,
17:28 I believe not even 15% of customers had any insurance.
17:33 Today, when a person dies, genuine insurance,
17:43 genuine insurance, not one, two lakh rupees,
17:45 which is meaningless for anybody.
17:46 Barely anybody has.
17:49 Right, when you look at sum assured
17:52 as a percentage of premium itself,
17:55 it's abysmally low for our country.
17:57 We have a very high life insurance premium,
17:59 but we don't have sum assured.
18:01 So I think one can look at things from any way,
18:04 but to me, the big problem that we face
18:07 is the missing middle as a country, right?
18:10 Our middle class does not have private insurance,
18:15 nor does it have government security.
18:20 See, in the developed world, you have government security.
18:23 But if you don't have government security,
18:25 how does the middle class live?
18:28 And the sad part is even,
18:32 I'll give you a very simple stat.
18:33 We look at voice analytics and we look at,
18:35 things like, what is the customer talking about today?
18:42 So in July, the number of conversations about COVID
18:48 were eight times as high as they are today.
18:51 Despite the fact that number is much higher,
18:53 the consumer thought process COVID is over, right?
18:58 Second thing you see insurance is built through,
19:02 I think it's still a push product,
19:04 but there's some data points here.
19:06 See the green shoots here are,
19:10 and we've all seen this, I'm sure Rajiv sir has,
19:13 you know, Tapan sir has,
19:14 and you know, I've obviously been seeing it.
19:17 I think about five years ago,
19:18 insurance, what you call digital insurance,
19:21 when I say digital insurance, I'm talking about
19:22 fresh premium, I don't talk about renewals
19:24 because renewals can always go digital, that's fine.
19:26 But I say, you know, getting customers in first year,
19:30 I think about one, 2% of our industry was digital.
19:33 Today about 15% of our industry is digital.
19:39 It's a very, very significant number.
19:41 15% is very large.
19:42 - You mean 15% of all new customer acquisitions
19:46 in a year is digitally?
19:48 - And I'm talking by premium,
19:49 I'm not talking about summer short.
19:50 If you speak by summer short, it might be 50%.
19:52 I don't know the number, but it might be 30, 40, 50%.
19:56 But I'm saying by premium,
19:57 15% of the industry has moved digital.
19:59 This ma'am, sirs has happened in the last five years.
20:04 And what I'm talking about is these are customers
20:07 waking up in the morning, coming to our website
20:10 and saying, I want to buy insurance.
20:12 And I'm happy to take out 20,000 rupees from my pocket
20:16 and put it into this entity for a product,
20:21 which my best case scenario is I never use that product.
20:24 Well, I don't want to die.
20:26 I don't want to fall sick.
20:28 I'm not seeking any return on this.
20:30 I'm just putting it.
20:31 That's a huge phenomenal change
20:33 that's happened in our country.
20:34 15%, 1, 5%, that's a very, very large number.
20:38 See, when we started,
20:40 and again, from a general insurance perspective,
20:42 Tapan sir has seen these numbers.
20:44 Motor insurance used to be dominant.
20:47 Health insurance used to be minuscule.
20:48 I don't know numbers very well,
20:51 but I believe now health insurance is as big or bigger
20:54 for the first time.
20:55 - Because you have regulations,
20:56 I mean, which mandate auto insurance,
20:59 but you have no such thing
21:00 because this is self-regulated.
21:02 - But what I'm trying to say is health has caught up.
21:05 In the last 10 years, health insurance has caught up.
21:08 Health insurance is big.
21:10 Term insurance is significant.
21:11 There are companies doing a quarter of their business.
21:14 Now, on term insurance.
21:16 And then people find ways,
21:18 yes, term is difficult to distribute,
21:20 but through these TROP and through limited pay
21:23 and various mechanics,
21:24 it can be made interesting for distribution also.
21:27 But what I'm saying is customers buying
21:29 with the primary piece being,
21:32 what if I die?
21:33 What if I fall sick?
21:34 Not what is my return on this product?
21:38 That is a big part of the market,
21:39 but there you have mutual funds and banks also competing.
21:43 So I think consumer awareness is growing.
21:46 So I think the reality is somewhere in,
21:49 I think all three of us have a different point of view.
21:52 But the reality is, yes,
21:54 even today, 85% of insurance is sold, not bought.
21:57 But 15% is being bought.
22:00 There's no doubt there.
22:01 15% is being bought.
22:03 The most researched category,
22:04 look at the difference between online and offline, ma'am.
22:07 Just for a second, just stay with me on this.
22:10 The most researched product on the net is term insurance.
22:13 - Hmm.
22:14 - The second most researched product
22:15 on the net is health insurance.
22:17 The third most researched product
22:19 on the net is motor insurance.
22:21 There is almost no research whatsoever
22:25 for life investment products.
22:28 But if you look at the offline channel,
22:31 the situation is exactly the opposite, right?
22:34 The largest sold product is the investment product.
22:37 The, you know, it kind of almost goes reverse.
22:40 It goes investment, motor, health, term, right?
22:45 So we are looking at two worlds.
22:48 One is the push world, one is the pull world.
22:51 I think the pull world is growing.
22:53 It is, in my humble opinion, it's unstoppable now,
22:56 but it will take another five years to really,
23:01 you know, where we all agree that the world has moved pull.
23:04 And for that, a lot of pieces have to fall into place.
23:07 A lot of the backend pieces are still falling into place.
23:09 You know, the claims, the underwriting, the simplification.
23:12 I think the NDHM, as it comes together,
23:15 will really help speed up that trend.
23:17 But I think the reality is somewhere in the middle.
23:19 - Sure.
23:20 So I'll just take this right back to Mr. Gupta.
23:23 I mean, Yashish, you raised a really significant point
23:27 that, you know, when you look at insurance,
23:29 the larger proportion of insurance
23:32 sold continues to be a bundled investment product,
23:35 and the protection part of it is really small.
23:38 And I know there is a historic reason to it,
23:41 because the way insurance has been sold in this country
23:44 has been primarily as an investment product
23:46 because there's tax incentives,
23:48 and there was always a huge agent force
23:51 which was pushing it.
23:52 So if somebody bought it because somebody else said,
23:55 and you could save a little bit by way of tax,
23:57 and that legacy kind of continues.
24:00 But Mr. Gupta, what is it that LIC is doing?
24:04 And, you know, do you think it is imperative
24:08 for you as a lead player in this space
24:12 to be actively pursuing something
24:15 to tilt this whole equation
24:18 and gunning for protection more than investment?
24:23 And I don't know if I'm exactly correct on this,
24:26 but I think LIC is,
24:28 because I was personally trying to buy term insurance
24:31 and enhance my protection level,
24:34 and I found that LIC was one of the costliest term insurance
24:37 and I wondered why.
24:39 - Mahalakshmi, I would like to have a relook
24:43 on this statement.
24:45 Maybe three years back, that was the situation.
24:50 - Okay.
24:51 - And we were very categorical in stating this thing,
24:55 that what rates are being quoted by some of the players
25:00 is unreasonable, unfeasible.
25:03 - Okay.
25:04 - And last, in immediate past,
25:08 there have been huge increase in premium amount
25:11 being charged to the customer
25:13 by the private insurance player.
25:15 While now, at this point of time,
25:18 our tech term plan, online tech term plan,
25:21 is, I think, the most reasonable plan.
25:25 We have not increased our term insurance premium.
25:28 That is something I would like to point out over here.
25:31 And it is the most competitive term insurance plan
25:35 available in the market right now.
25:37 Having said that thing,
25:39 I would certainly like to disagree
25:44 on what has been stated,
25:46 that term insurance is the only way forward,
25:49 because it is a fact that life insurance is being sold,
25:54 but it does not mean that it is being sold blindly
25:57 without customers realizing what is being sold to them.
26:02 What has been sold to them
26:05 has been demanded by the customer.
26:06 Life insurance in India has always been
26:10 insurance plus investment.
26:12 If that was not the case,
26:17 today, even after 20 years of sector opening up,
26:20 LIC is having a market share of 73% in new business policy.
26:25 And in the current pandemic itself,
26:27 in the month of May,
26:29 till date, we have increased our market share
26:32 by about 6, 7%.
26:34 So,
26:35 it is,
26:37 I would say, completely incorrect to state
26:41 that customer wants term insurance.
26:43 And insurance companies are not giving that.
26:45 - No, I think the point is--
26:47 - Because--
26:48 - Sure.
26:49 - So, the customer wants investment,
26:53 plus side by side, they want risk coverage also.
26:57 And so, a bundled product is always something
26:59 which customers in India have preferred.
27:02 And most of our sales,
27:04 so we have got term insurance plans,
27:07 we always had some term insurance plans.
27:10 It was not that we were denying that plans to anybody,
27:13 but it was always the customer which was demanding
27:16 that how much I will get when the policy matures.
27:19 Even today, if any sale pitch is there,
27:22 customer always wants to know
27:24 how much he will get when the policy matures.
27:27 Nobody ever questions
27:28 how much my nominee will get when I die.
27:31 Very real, very real.
27:33 I must tell you this.
27:34 So, LIC--
27:36 - But LIC--
27:37 - LIC is always propagating bundled products.
27:41 Of course, we are having pure term products also,
27:44 and we have got pure endowment,
27:46 we had pure endowment products also.
27:48 But it is always the bundled product
27:50 which is demanded in the market,
27:53 and we are providing it.
27:54 - Sure.
27:57 Fair enough, but I think the point is not so much about,
28:01 about what you sell and what you have on the plate.
28:08 But just Steve Jobs says,
28:11 the customer doesn't know what he wants.
28:13 I think as a lead player,
28:14 I would say that it's not only you,
28:17 but all the players in the industry,
28:19 the existential reason why an insurance company exists
28:23 is that you have to provide protection.
28:26 To that extent, to educate the customer
28:28 about the need for insurance,
28:31 itself has to start at the level of the company.
28:35 To educate them saying,
28:36 boss, you need insurance first.
28:38 For investment, you have us,
28:40 and there are a plethora of other options too.
28:42 But this is absolutely essential
28:45 and center of play for anybody
28:46 in terms of financial planning.
28:49 - So I think that word has not gone out,
28:52 and I won't singularly say it's LIC or anybody else,
28:56 including the media.
28:58 All of us are responsible
28:59 for not being able to spread this word to people.
29:04 So Yashish, what is it that you would expect
29:09 should be done at the industry level
29:13 and at each individual player level?
29:15 - I think the industry will take time.
29:18 It will not change suddenly.
29:20 It cannot.
29:22 And as sir said, it's absolutely true
29:25 that the customer,
29:27 and both sirs have said that,
29:29 the customer is not jumping out of his door
29:33 saying, I want to buy term insurance,
29:35 I want to buy health insurance.
29:36 Even in this time,
29:37 the total term insurance, fresh premium market,
29:42 or let's say total term insurance
29:43 is about 10,000 crores.
29:47 It's nothing compared to the large numbers
29:50 of the insurance industry.
29:51 The health insurance retail industry is 20,000 crores,
29:54 maybe 25, 30,000 crores.
29:56 Nothing compared to the large investment category.
29:59 Now, I think that is the truth.
30:03 If the customer engaged,
30:08 if the customer got up in the morning and said,
30:10 I want health insurance and life insurance,
30:12 then life would be very easy.
30:14 And that is precisely why in a category like insurance,
30:16 you have millions of distributors out there
30:21 trying to push the product
30:22 because it is a push product at the end of it.
30:25 I think all I'm trying to say is
30:29 we have to understand the nature of the problem.
30:30 The nature of the problem is customer inertia.
30:33 To their own problem,
30:34 their own problem,
30:36 see, I have nothing against investment products.
30:39 We also sell investment products.
30:41 They are about 20% of our sales,
30:43 but they're not 80% of our sales.
30:45 And what we struggle with
30:47 is to get demand for investment products,
30:49 because quite honestly,
30:50 nobody is sitting out there searching that I want
30:53 traditional investment product or a ULIP investment product.
30:57 They're searching for mutual funds,
30:58 they're searching for fixed deposits.
31:00 They're not really searching for this.
31:01 But because we have a large sales force as an industry,
31:04 we are able to get that to happen.
31:07 Now, I think both term and health,
31:13 both require a very deep thought about it.
31:18 Because if you have to sell this product,
31:20 the most important thing is utmost faith,
31:23 not just in the company.
31:23 Actually, you don't need faith in the company.
31:26 You actually need faith in the customer.
31:28 Because at such low penetration levels,
31:30 the person who will come to buy these products first
31:32 is the person who's either dead or dying,
31:35 or is already sick because they know,
31:39 I'll pay a thousand rupees and get something.
31:42 So I think utmost technique, data, analytics
31:47 in analyzing risk is critical.
31:55 Now, I think that needs to take the forefront.
31:58 I think in the health insurance industry,
31:59 that has taken forefront, by the way.
32:01 I believe now in the health insurance industry,
32:04 people are less concerned about distribution
32:07 than about risk.
32:08 You'll be surprised when I talk to CEOs,
32:10 their bigger concern is not how to increase volume.
32:13 Their bigger concern is what risk are we taking on?
32:17 What's gonna happen with that, et cetera, et cetera.
32:19 Health has changed.
32:20 I think.
32:22 - So, Tapan, what is the Brahmastra
32:30 that you have developed to nail on this,
32:33 essentially to minimize the risk for the company
32:35 and yet be customer-centric?
32:37 - Okay, first and foremost,
32:39 thank you Mahalakshmi for inviting me.
32:40 I'm really enjoying this panel discussion.
32:43 Three different industry leaders
32:46 and three different points of view.
32:47 - I'm in a different spot caught between the two of you.
32:51 - I think you only can pull it off, Mahalakshmi.
32:53 So I think it's a great panel to be in.
32:55 I'm fully enjoying it.
32:56 So first, let me answer the point that has been raised
32:59 and give some insight on that.
33:00 So I keep everybody on their toes
33:02 and then we come back to answer your question.
33:05 So I think first, Mr. Gupta, I'm not an LIC man at all.
33:09 I've been hardcore, non-life, general insurance
33:12 all my career.
33:13 So on LIC, what do I speak about life
33:15 or what I speak about is that layman talk.
33:17 So I think that is one thing.
33:19 Coming to Yashesh's point in terms of people approaching
33:22 directly and the pull part he initially mentioned.
33:24 To look at what he did mention, two things he mentioned.
33:27 He mentioned now the interest has gone down
33:29 compared to what it was two to three years back.
33:32 So the point I was trying to make
33:33 that the customer behavior has not changed.
33:35 No, the moment the person is going is still there.
33:38 The number of cases still rising.
33:40 Moment the perception of fear comes on,
33:42 nobody's even trying to figure out the product.
33:44 So it is still a push, right?
33:46 And the product Yashesh is talking about
33:48 is more of comparative product search for the cheapest
33:51 which is a aggregator size.
33:52 So people who are already going to buy
33:54 which have been pushed by the offline methodology
33:56 looking for a cheaper product
33:57 would be actually searching for the web
33:58 to find which is giving the best product
34:00 because people are tech savvy
34:01 and they look for price comparison all across.
34:03 That cannot be an initial harbinger
34:06 of the good times of a pull part coming in.
34:08 I think we should not get carried away
34:10 is my humble submission there.
34:12 Okay, now let's come to your point.
34:13 Let's look at insurance
34:14 and let's look at success in penetration.
34:16 Let's understand how the world has moved
34:18 and let's not get carried away.
34:19 Again, data points.
34:20 In US home insurance is 95% penetration.
34:23 In India, it is less than 1%.
34:27 In India, private motor car has 90% penetration.
34:30 Indonesia, 20% penetration.
34:33 Across the world, what is it
34:36 that when the penetration is very high
34:38 and what is it that when the penetration is very low?
34:41 What is that one differential which is happening?
34:44 The same citizens or same people
34:46 who had gone to US from India had a home insurance there.
34:51 And in India, it will be like 1/50 of the cost, no?
34:54 But they don't have home insurance here.
34:57 Why is it so?
34:59 The point is insurance and government have to work together.
35:04 Unfortunately, human brain is not wired to see the risk.
35:08 It is wired to see the risk.
35:09 Then if you look outside your window,
35:11 wherever you're sitting,
35:12 Mahalakshmi will find 80% people not wearing masks.
35:15 And they care a hell about corona.
35:16 You ask them, yeah?
35:18 Like somewhere I read, no, if corona and love happens,
35:22 like, no, you don't have to know.
35:23 Like, you just cannot do that, yeah?
35:26 So they don't care a shit about it.
35:29 And because it's attuned to only human beings
35:31 have reached where they've reached.
35:32 Otherwise, they're still being caved.
35:33 If they were so wired to see a risk,
35:35 no, they're still being caved.
35:36 So what we're trying to fight against
35:39 is the human wiring of not seeing risk, no?
35:42 It hits you.
35:42 And that's what I just mentioned,
35:43 when it hits you, then you start searching,
35:45 no, which is the insurance company I should buy help from
35:47 or I should buy this from,
35:49 or what is the cheapest loop for?
35:50 On their own, cyber is the biggest risk right now
35:53 for everybody, no?
35:55 700 rupees a year is there for a cyber cover,
35:59 amazing cover.
36:00 If actually people were aware of risk
36:03 and they're buying insurance,
36:04 then cyber will be selling like hotcakes today.
36:06 No? - Right.
36:07 - Point of no make, no?
36:08 If I look at risk and the purchase happening,
36:09 which is not, the top names still come up,
36:11 term no, or health or no,
36:13 mortgage is something which has been pushed up there.
36:16 Government and insurance company,
36:18 when they work together,
36:20 then they make a difference to the country.
36:22 And they change the social fabric of the country.
36:25 This is a very important point which we miss
36:27 when we talk about penetration, no?
36:28 I think we're barking at the wrong tree
36:30 when we talk about the way we're looking at it.
36:32 In US it is there because it's mandatory to have that cover.
36:34 In Indonesia, mortars are mandatory,
36:36 so the penetration is much lower.
36:37 In India it's mandatory, so it's about 80% or so, no?
36:40 And going to 90% of penetration, which is happening.
36:42 When government announced national health scheme,
36:44 I was super excited.
36:44 Before that, all my interviewees said,
36:45 "It should be announced."
36:46 40 crores Indians get covered.
36:48 Suddenly you watch a big hospital chains
36:50 talking about opening hospitals at remote locations
36:53 which they never ventured to.
36:54 Why?
36:55 Five lakhs sum insured per family.
36:57 Healthcare investment goes up, money gets pushed in.
37:00 - You know, you make these audacious plans
37:02 when your economy or the country is not really geared
37:05 in terms of infrastructure or support system
37:07 to beef up what is required to deliver on that promise.
37:11 So that's recipe for disaster.
37:13 - No, no, no.
37:13 It's not so, Mahalakshmi.
37:15 When you make audacious announcement,
37:18 initially one, two years, there may be struggle.
37:20 But 20,000, 25,000 crores of money
37:22 is coming into the table, no?
37:25 As claim payments.
37:27 Where does it go?
37:28 That goes in starting beefing up infrastructure.
37:30 It may take five to seven years.
37:32 But with that movement, just won that movement,
37:35 the average expectancy at that strata
37:38 would move by five to seven years, Mahalakshmi.
37:40 That is the difference it makes.
37:42 Let's look at the crop insurance scheme.
37:44 90% is the claim ratio if I take a five-year period,
37:48 which means the subsidy, if the government,
37:50 and we have read about it,
37:51 if 100 rupees is being allotted by center,
37:53 and we read this, how much reaches the farmer?
37:54 10, 15 rupees is what we read.
37:56 I do not know you as a journalist.
37:57 You would be knowing more.
37:58 I'm just telling what I heard.
38:00 In a crop insurance scheme, 90% reaches the farmer.
38:03 Amazing distribution of subsidy, no?
38:06 By the insurance mechanism.
38:07 And it is getting beneficial to so many farmers all across.
38:12 A government and insurance company partnership
38:15 changes the social fabric of the country.
38:17 And that is where you actually provide coverage.
38:20 And the point that she has mentioned,
38:21 the middle level, I think Niti Ayog is talking
38:23 on the middle level now,
38:24 the next 20 crores of health insurance,
38:25 how do you put that on?
38:26 It's a bigger framework.
38:28 It's a bigger framework.
38:29 Insurance is there for social needs.
38:31 Government is there to provide protection.
38:34 Putting it together is how you redefine the country.
38:36 That is the mantra.
38:37 All advertisements, if it worked,
38:39 then corona would have ensured several of that,
38:41 and 40 crores of people would have bought.
38:43 Even if whatever Mr. Gupta mentioned,
38:45 numbers as growth,
38:47 compared to number of uninsured people,
38:49 what are we talking about?
38:51 That's the point I want to make.
38:52 Growth is, like Yash has mentioned,
38:54 does not do any reflection.
38:55 - I think the important thing is a certain momentum
38:57 has been set, like Mr. Gupta is saying,
39:00 that okay, this period has,
39:01 you know, when everything's going down,
39:03 the fact that if you even matched up to last year
39:06 and bettered last year,
39:07 there is a certain momentum that has come.
39:09 But the question is to sustain this momentum
39:11 because this is all driven by recency effect.
39:14 And when that fades off,
39:15 do we really have the systems, the products,
39:19 the simplicity that's required to really capitalize
39:22 on this growth to make it big?
39:23 But to coming back to this point on digitization,
39:27 Mr. Gupta, can you just take us through,
39:30 you know, again, what kind of,
39:33 through this digitization process,
39:35 how close have you come to the customer?
39:39 Have there been certain hurdles that have been,
39:43 you know, crossed, have been demolished,
39:46 so that this whole process becomes simpler, quicker?
39:50 So digital selling takes off in a big way.
39:55 That itself can be a fairly big driver.
39:57 For example, if health insurance or motor insurance
40:01 or term insurance has got wings
40:03 because of digital delivery,
40:05 it's because of the simplicity of the product.
40:07 So is there, where are we at LIC
40:11 in terms of coming close to the customer?
40:16 - Yeah, Malakshmi, I would like to,
40:19 you have raised a very pertinent point.
40:22 See, two important points I would like to make here.
40:27 Number one is the regulator itself
40:30 has instructed all insurance companies
40:33 to come out with a product called Saral Jeevan.
40:37 It will be a very plain and simple product, available,
40:42 and the customer can compare the rate.
40:46 LIC has already designed the product.
40:49 We are waiting approval from the regulator.
40:54 Then we can have a product which will be really comparable
40:59 and each insurance company will be having a similar product.
41:03 Though I must say that already some of our products
41:07 are very, or should I say, simple,
41:10 and we have right now seven products available online,
41:15 sales is going on, and as I said,
41:19 there's a very good growth on online sales.
41:21 Recently, IRDI has come out with a,
41:27 they have permitted digital signatures on proposal forms.
41:31 So this will be a game changer
41:34 because now, though we are the consumer,
41:40 the customer will be approached
41:42 through the intermediary itself,
41:44 but end-to-end solution can be provided digitally.
41:48 The proposal form can be filled in digitally.
41:51 The customer will have digital signature.
41:54 We are already having in place video medical
41:57 or telemedical, almost, in fact,
42:01 with certain limitations where special reports are required.
42:05 All of the medical can be conducted video
42:08 or telephonically by us,
42:11 and we have given this facility to all of our customers.
42:16 And so end-to-end digital completion can happen
42:20 even through agent mode because LIC,
42:24 as far as LIC is concerned,
42:25 our biggest chunk of business comes
42:28 through the tied agency, okay?
42:31 So these two activities, I am sure,
42:34 will give good results.
42:37 Apart from that, we are having some bank assurance partners
42:41 like IDBI Bank, NXS Bank.
42:43 We have given digital access to them,
42:46 so the customer never comes to LIC.
42:49 The bank assurance channel itself takes care.
42:52 And bank assurance channel, again,
42:54 this year is showing a very good growth of 53%,
42:57 more than 53% in LIC.
43:00 And in fact, we are expecting other bank assurance partners
43:04 to come forward and play a very important role
43:07 in making bank assurance a very successful channel.
43:11 So these are certain points
43:12 which will certainly impact the market.
43:14 - Sure.
43:17 You were also talking about video medical
43:19 and stuff like that.
43:20 I mean, are they for this period
43:25 where we are still observing social distancing, et cetera,
43:28 or is that a permanent change that you're looking at?
43:30 - No, in fact, it was launched last year.
43:33 It is over one year old,
43:34 so COVID was nowhere in the horizon
43:36 when we launched our video medical.
43:38 And this is here to stay.
43:42 - Okay.
43:43 - This is something which we were looking forward to.
43:46 And during this period,
43:48 I must say that the penetration will increase
43:52 because of the pandemic,
43:53 and it is 100% here to stay.
43:55 - So LIC is certainly showing greater faith in customers.
44:00 I mean, if you're expecting video medical,
44:02 of course, the tools are available,
44:03 but it's also a question of faith.
44:05 So coming back to you, Tapan,
44:07 what kind of systems have you put in place
44:12 to minimize risk to the company?
44:14 And so you are able to take that leap of faith
44:16 on the customer.
44:18 - Okay, so let's look at GI industry
44:21 and let's look at what are the risks
44:22 that actually GI industry faces.
44:24 Actually, it's a very simple industry.
44:25 I think that is why we have an easier time
44:27 compared to the other industry.
44:29 - Right.
44:30 - So if you look at-
44:31 - Because most of it is excluded, so it's simple.
44:33 - It's amazing.
44:34 If you look at the combination industry, it's 117%.
44:37 - Is it?
44:37 - Yes.
44:39 So a combination of 117% industry
44:41 means that the industry is bleeding
44:42 paying all the claims.
44:43 So I don't know your statement
44:44 and the data did not go together.
44:46 So, okay, let me come back again
44:48 to the point why it is simple.
44:51 So if you look at, it's a simple risk-based coverage.
44:56 There's nothing called investment here.
44:57 So you pay for something, it happens, you get paid.
45:00 If you take a motor insurance,
45:01 if your car crashes, you get paid.
45:04 Now, what are the chances where frauds would happen?
45:07 You already have a car crashed
45:09 and you want to get an insurance done.
45:11 Or let's say in health, you already have an illness.
45:14 You want to get an insurance done.
45:15 I think if I look at broadly,
45:17 or you already have a factory where,
45:18 no, fire has already happened.
45:20 You want to get an insurance done.
45:21 I think those are the only places.
45:22 Otherwise, it's pretty simple.
45:25 Except for health also, you have a health cover.
45:26 Whatever is the waiting period of,
45:28 I think, pre-extinct, if that gets over.
45:32 I'd be surprised if any company says no to your claim.
45:34 You just walk in and it gets paid.
45:36 It's as simple as that.
45:37 If you have motor cover, if an accident happens,
45:39 I would be surprised if somebody says no to the claim.
45:41 It gets paid.
45:43 The only issue is you have to be careful about frauds.
45:45 Now, fraudsters and insurance companies
45:47 have been going like police for many, many years together.
45:50 I think the biggest frauds happen in the insurance industry.
45:53 And you know the beauty is,
45:54 honest people also commit fraud in the insurance industry.
45:56 That is where the beauty is.
45:58 Let me give a statement.
45:59 Like, how do honest people commit fraud in the insurance industry?
46:02 You have a car.
46:03 It has some scratches.
46:04 Yeah.
46:05 Scratches are part of maintenance.
46:06 It's not an accident.
46:07 Some scratches here, there, is there.
46:09 Now, you take it to a workshop for whatever, servicing.
46:14 The workshop guy says,
46:15 "Madam, don't worry.
46:16 We'll get the entire car painted and give it to you.
46:18 It'll be done by a BMR company."
46:20 You, as an honest person, sign a blank form for claims.
46:23 And you know what happens after you leave?
46:25 The car is crashed.
46:26 And you have no clue.
46:28 Photograph taken.
46:30 Claims get settled.
46:31 Your car gets painted.
46:32 And you get the car back.
46:33 And behind you, there may be a claim
46:35 which will be worth over a lakh of rupees.
46:37 You were part of a fraud, Mahalakshmi.
46:40 Unknowingly, knowingly.
46:41 The problem in the insurance industry
46:42 is honest people commit fraud in the insurance industry.
46:44 Now, let's try to put all this together.
46:46 It's all poetic justice.
46:47 It's all poetic justice, I call it.
46:50 Karma-hunting insurance industry, man.
46:54 That's why I said, look at the data,
46:55 you want 20% combined ratio.
46:57 The industry is bringing you death-paying claims.
46:58 So I think sometimes we have to work on perception also.
47:01 Now let's come back to what do we do to settle all this.
47:03 First and foremost, have a very strong anti-fraud mechanism.
47:07 - Right.
47:08 - Demonstrate it very strong.
47:10 So let's say when we catch a fraud, internal or external,
47:13 we don't let it go easy.
47:15 Even getting the people arrested.
47:19 Fraud is something which should not come to us.
47:21 That is something which one should be very, very clear.
47:23 If you're able to eliminate fraud,
47:26 the rest is very easy.
47:28 It's not about customer trust.
47:29 It's about fraud.
47:30 Now, on fraud is where the problem starts.
47:32 Now let me give you a bit of background
47:34 of the insurance industry.
47:34 And this is interesting.
47:35 So I'll take two, three minutes of your time
47:36 to understand why does this happen?
47:38 Why this perception, like the perception you have,
47:40 why is it happening?
47:41 16th century, when the insurance industry got open,
47:44 what was the purpose of the industry?
47:46 You collect money from many.
47:49 You're the custodian of the money of many
47:52 to be paid to a few who have an incident
47:57 on which the contract was given.
47:59 You're the custodian of money, yeah, of public money.
48:02 So what are the owners on you as insurance industry?
48:04 That if somebody lodges a claim, please verify.
48:07 - Right. - Two things.
48:08 One, A, it's not a fraud.
48:10 B, it is within the contract which you have signed.
48:13 Otherwise, you're giving away somebody else's money.
48:16 It is not the insurance company that's putting money,
48:18 no ma'am.
48:19 All of you are giving money.
48:20 From there, you're paying claims.
48:22 So when we pay a false claim,
48:24 or we pay an exorbitant claim,
48:26 or we pay a claim outside the contract,
48:28 we may be very nice guys,
48:30 but we are defrauding the trust of millions of people
48:33 who have paid money for us to safeguard
48:35 and pay for the right thing.
48:36 That's our job.
48:37 So by nature, the insurance industry gets into a dilemma
48:41 when they start checking.
48:42 As a customer, your experience is terrible.
48:44 You lodge a claim, and the industry is seeing you
48:46 like a thug.
48:47 They're checking whether it's a fraudulent claim,
48:49 whether it's exorbitant.
48:51 Now, this is where the conflict comes in.
48:54 From an industry perspective, for hundreds of years,
48:56 they're trying to play right and safe.
48:58 And that's why I give you the combined issue.
49:00 From a customer perspective, the experience is very bad.
49:02 Now, this is where, as Baralians, our ambition is,
49:04 how do you make the experience of the customer
49:06 so seamless and so beautiful
49:09 that we don't even doubt when you lodge a claim?
49:11 What we do is, at the background,
49:13 put so strong algorithms
49:16 that digitally we're able to eliminate fraud.
49:18 But from a customer experience, for your seamless,
49:21 so let's say if you have a motor insurance with us,
49:23 we don't have a piece of insurance, it's pretty good.
49:26 And if you have a claim,
49:27 you get down, click pictures, upload,
49:29 we'll transfer money to your account in 20 minutes.
49:31 - Right.
49:32 - Guaranteed, yeah.
49:33 Off the action, on the spot.
49:35 As simple as that.
49:37 Because we learn all our algorithms at the background.
49:39 A time has come, with all the digital tools,
49:43 to solve the dilemma of the industry
49:45 and the customer experience using digital tools,
49:48 eliminate fraud, and do it ruthlessly.
49:51 And that is the only thing we should do, Maharaj.
49:52 The rest, no, I think we should just allow it
49:54 to just get paid.
49:54 I think that is what we should do.
49:55 - Thank you for those defrauding tips.
49:58 (both laughing)
49:59 That's good education.
50:01 But, Yashish, so,
50:04 what would you,
50:06 what is your top three wishlist from the industry?
50:10 So we could have,
50:11 really, several notches higher on customer centricity.
50:15 - Yeah, I think the biggest wishlist is focus on risk.
50:22 You know, that's one.
50:24 We, ourselves, and I totally agree with Tapan, sir,
50:27 that there is an intent issue.
50:30 If you can identify the intent of the customer,
50:32 you can identify the risk quite well.
50:36 And, you know, with all the,
50:39 we're talking and recording our conversations
50:42 with about almost quarter of a million customers every day.
50:46 And all of this is giving us a lot of inputs
50:49 into the risk that some of those,
50:52 very few of those,
50:53 are creating for the rest of the ecosystem.
50:56 We're able to pick up that data,
50:58 and we're able to pass on this data to all our partners.
51:01 And in motor health and life,
51:04 in life, we're having lots of conversations with reinsurers.
51:07 There's beautiful data coming out
51:08 on how you can identify risk very early on,
51:11 through the use of voice, through the use of intent,
51:14 through the use of tech.
51:17 I think picking that up is extremely powerful.
51:21 Our industry needs to be absolutely transparent
51:23 towards both the risk taker and the customer.
51:28 You know, both, if there is not an honest conversation,
51:32 it becomes difficult.
51:33 - Right.
51:34 - I think my wish from the industry is,
51:37 if I was to put it pure, bluntly,
51:40 we know it's difficult.
51:42 We know moving this industry,
51:43 we all agree, right?
51:44 That it's difficult for customers to get up in the morning
51:46 and say, "I want to protect myself."
51:49 There are some entities in this country
51:52 which are genuinely trying to do that.
51:54 We are one of them.
51:55 We need support.
51:58 We need support from all of you.
52:00 - In what way?
52:02 - With all the support,
52:03 see, we all know what support means.
52:05 With all that support, from the regulator,
52:07 from the insurance companies, from everybody,
52:09 we're trying to build a business.
52:11 We've spent, as I said,
52:12 we've spent about 1500 crores educating the consumer.
52:15 By health insurance, by,
52:16 let me explain a very simple thing.
52:18 Before 2008, there wasn't a term insurance market.
52:20 There is a term insurance market.
52:23 Can it be said that at least Policy Bazaar is 20%
52:28 of the reason why there exists a term insurance market today?
52:32 There may not have been one,
52:34 if Policy Bazaar wasn't there, right?
52:36 I'm not thinking all the credit, I'm thinking 20.
52:39 So someone like us, Mahalakshmi,
52:40 all I'm saying is someone like us needs support.
52:44 That's all.
52:45 Because this is the task that usually governments do.
52:48 This is not the task that private people do.
52:51 This is the task that governments do.
52:53 Right?
52:54 So that's all.
52:55 And we may still, with all that support,
52:57 just be 5, 10% of the industry,
52:59 but we need that support, that's all.
53:01 - Sure.
53:02 Mr. Gupta, what will be your top three areas of priority
53:08 towards customer centricity?
53:15 - Yeah, so I would,
53:17 till now we were discussing almost marketing.
53:20 And my niche area is customer services.
53:24 So as far as customer services is concerned,
53:27 my top priority is to provide a service portal
53:34 to all the customers.
53:38 So all the service needs can be done online.
53:42 - All right.
53:43 - That will be the biggest thing I would like to have.
53:47 And we are working towards that.
53:49 Secondly, digital access to customers on purchases also,
53:56 either directly through our online portal,
54:00 or through our intermediary channels,
54:02 either bank assurance or our regular tied agent.
54:06 So as I said, I'm very happy to inform
54:09 that the regulator has allowed this digital signature
54:14 on proposal form through the regular tied agency group also.
54:19 Of course, it is for a limited period to begin with.
54:23 And we are looking forward to that
54:25 because that is something that will be a game changer.
54:28 And thirdly, we always,
54:32 because we are catering to more than 21 crore customers,
54:36 so premium collection is also something
54:39 which we always look forward to.
54:41 Providing new and new avenues to customers
54:44 to pay the premium.
54:46 Again, I'm very happy to report that in the current year,
54:49 the self mode of premium payment,
54:52 we all know that premium are being collected through agents
54:56 and people are coming to the branch offices and paying.
54:59 Self mode where digitally people have paid,
55:02 this year it has been 42% of our total collection.
55:06 It has shown a quantum growth of 135% over last year.
55:11 So we are in the process of adding more and more channels.
55:17 We are already there in almost all of them,
55:20 Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Paytm, Phone Pay,
55:24 through debit card, credit card, net banking.
55:28 And I must also inform that all credit card charges,
55:32 debit card charges we are bearing right now.
55:36 So that is something we wish to provide avenues to the customer
55:41 how to interact with LAC.
55:44 They want to come directly to LAC, well and good.
55:46 If they want to come to intermediary,
55:49 that is also okay with us.
55:51 And in fact, we are okay with everything.
55:54 So that is something I would like to say.
55:57 - So I mean, in what ways will Bajaj Alliance
56:03 be a better company three years hence?
56:07 - We will have the ambition to settle all...
56:09 - Apart from creating huge value for your shareholders,
56:12 which is number one priority.
56:14 - All is number one priority,
56:17 including right now giving you the answer.
56:20 So let me come to the point.
56:22 First is that if I look at all retail claims
56:26 to be settled in 10 minutes,
56:27 the point I told you,
56:28 the customer experience for claims in the industry
56:32 has been horrible for 400, 500 years.
56:35 As a company...
56:37 - So it has existed that long, 500 years?
56:40 - Yeah, 1600.
56:41 First marine, Lloyds, all the story you'll hear.
56:43 Now the ships went into the water,
56:45 four guys sat down in the coffee shop.
56:48 So yeah, you'll be surprised.
56:50 Industry is a pretty old industry.
56:52 Nothing has changed.
56:53 If you look at the wordings of a motor, fire,
56:55 they would be at least 1800 years old.
56:57 No, you're just going to be wrong.
56:59 - I totally agree.
57:00 - (indistinct)
57:01 We are an amazing industry.
57:03 When you talk of digital era,
57:04 I can tell you that all the policy workings
57:06 are at least 1800 years old.
57:07 So industry has still a long time.
57:09 So something with the customer experience has been terrible.
57:11 First point is Mahalakshmi,
57:12 that we want to make a difference.
57:14 All retail claims within 10 minutes time.
57:16 That is our ambition.
57:17 And we are there.
57:18 Like I said, for motor, you can get it.
57:20 If you have mobile,
57:21 you have taken from any of our partners,
57:23 our distributors.
57:24 When an accident happens,
57:24 we transfer money very fast.
57:26 For trip delay, we actually pay you
57:28 even before you know it.
57:29 We are pushing it very hard.
57:31 We want to change the experience of customer
57:32 to a level where the push to pull happens.
57:35 That is where Yashesh will be happy
57:36 that the support that we give them.
57:38 People say, yes, insurance is good to have
57:40 because the claims get paid.
57:42 That is one thing we want to change.
57:43 Very, very clear.
57:44 For industrial risk,
57:46 at least 50%, 60% payment on the first day of loss itself.
57:50 Because now every data is digital.
57:53 Why do we wait for asking for chartered accountancy,
57:55 data to be put?
57:56 Why not within that?
57:58 That's our ambition.
57:59 Policy is to be customized.
58:01 Customer should decide what covers they want
58:03 up to what level.
58:04 Luckily, IIT is coming to sandbox,
58:06 we're experimenting a lot.
58:07 So more power to the customer
58:09 in terms of what he wants to cover
58:11 up to what he wants to cover.
58:13 And when a claim happens,
58:15 we don't start with distrust.
58:16 We turn it on the head, we pay, we trust you.
58:20 Those things we want to do.
58:21 We want to redefine the entire industry completely
58:24 from an experience perspective.
58:28 - Sure, more power to your elbow,
58:29 all three of you gentlemen.
58:31 Thank you so much.
58:32 I had a really nice time moderating this discussion.
58:35 I hope you guys enjoyed the discussion too.
58:38 Mr. Gupta, Yashish and Tapan,
58:40 thank you so much for your time.
58:42 - Love every moment, Lakshmi.
58:44 Great time, thank you very much.
58:46 We should do more of these.
58:47 Thank you very much.
58:48 - Sure, thank you gentlemen.
58:51 (upbeat music)
58:54 (upbeat music)
58:56 (upbeat music)
58:59 (upbeat music)
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