Page 46 - Insurance Times May 2020

Animesh Das, head of product strategy, Acko General In- According to the PwC report, pure life covers should see
surance, said for every insurer, the motor portfolio dipped renewed interest, and since that is largely an online mar-
in April-May because customers delayed renewals and the ket, it should see a boost in demand.
sale of new cars was minimal. It'll take two-three months
for normalcy to return because the production of new ve- "We have seen two key areas of impact-primarily, we see
hicles is gradually getting back on track," he said. greater awareness of being protected and protecting loved
ones from unforeseen risks. In line with this, consumers are
For motor insurance, the number of claims has come down more inclined towards pure protection covers leading to an
to less than 5% of the normal which led to some savings for increased demand for term plans," said Rushabh Gandhi,
insurers.
deputy CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co Ltd.
The report said that there is a possibility of vehicle owners
considering own damage (OD) as a luxury and retaining only Long-term guarantees will look attractive, but insurers will
the third-party component for a while. Even multiple-year face constraints in continuing to marketing these products
third-party insurance may see drop-offs despite being com- as interest rates plummet. He added that the overall un-
pulsory. Das said this could be the case for the next few certainty in the environment, the market volatility and the
months but given that users will prefer using their own falling interest rates have made an average consumer more
vehicles, the sale of OD component won't take a hit for long. cautious.

On the personal accident front, too, low claims are ex- The report said investment-linked products could also ex-
pected due to lack of activity and movement, and also lower perience a drop in demand as consumer confidence in the
renewal of policies. This is a category where penetration is stock market is shaky. "Overall market volatility and falling
clearly very low and insurance companies would do well to interest rates have taken the focus away from products that
concentrate and try to increase business here as it is not have long-term savings and variable returns through linked
dependent on underlying economic activity, said the report. instruments or annual bonuses. This has led to consumer
confidence shifting to products with guaranteed returns and
Life insurance benefits, such as non-participating plans apart from the shift
With a crisis like this, there is a rush to increase one's cover. to pure term plans," said Gandhi. - Livemint

Bajaj Allianz Life insurance launches child education plan with

guaranteed income

Bajaj Allianz Life, one of India's leading private life insurers, launched a Flexible Income Plan. Bajaj Allianz Life Flexi
Income Goal is a feature-rich participating endowment plan, designed to meet child's education and all other life goals,
by providing Life Cover along with guaranteed benefits and bonus.
This guaranteed income life insurance plan comes with unique features like flexibility to receive or accumulate Survival
Benefits including Cash Bonus, Guaranteed Monthly Income and Guaranteed Benefit. Policyholders are given high flex-
ibility to choose to receive Cash Bonus from 1st month onwards of the policy or accumulate the benefits for earning
additional returns.
This is a limited premium payment, non-linked, participating guaranteed income life insurance plan. The plan comes in
2 variants - Income Benefit & Enhanced Benefit.

"Along with being proactive, Indian consumers' trust in insurers paying out on valid claims is high, with 61% agreeing
with this statement and almost all (95%) felt that insurers are being just as proactive or more so than similar providers
during this time," said Ray.

46 The Insurance Times, May 2020