Page 26 - Life Insurance Today January-June 2020

A number of e-commerce companies across India are now across India, brokers and agents continue to be the
offering insurance cover and income protection plans to dominant point of sales.
their delivery partners, local vendors and supply-chain
associates. With coronavirus cases rising rapidly it is While the younger generation of consumers evaluate and
important for these companies, especially those engaged assess insurance products online, the actual sale usually
in food and goods delivery business. These companies face requires a face-to-face conversation with the agent. By
greater risks of revenue loss as they depend on delivery developing an end-to-end sales tool for the front-line sales staff,
executives who are more likely to contract the respiratory we are helping Indian firms develop a robust "hybrid model"
disease given the nature of their operations. where digital tools help agents find the right products to sell
to the right customers. Equally significant, the move to digital
Most of the e-commerce companies such as Flipkart, sales allows agents to develop and store customer data based
Zomato, Swiggy, BigBasket and Amazon have purchased on their daily client interaction. Over time, this will allow
medical insurance covers ranging from $670 to $6,660 for agents to change their sales approach from a service delivery
their delivery workforce, both permanent and freelance model to one where they own and manage client
staff. "Companies, mostly in the e-commerce sector, who relationships, thus leading to cross-selling opportunities.
have frontline workers and delivery boys, are now buying
insurance plans with sum assured of up to $6,660 per While many Indian insurers have adopted various digital
person to cover against COVID-19 risks. technologies, primarily mobile-based touch points for their
customers and distributors, the potential of digital
The premium for such products is around $34." The size of technologies to significantly affect their operations and
the employees' medical insurance business (taken by customers have not been explored yet. Moreover, due to
companies) is around $1bn at present and poised to grow the characteristics of the Digital Natives, one of the major
at 30-40%. India is now the third worst pandemic-affected issues any business is facing is their engagement metrics.
country in the world, with total reported cases at 1.04m Various means of engagement are being tried out in the
so far. Most major cities and metros have seen a surge in form of mobile advertisements, marketing campaigns and
cases over the past few weeks. push messages about products.

Too early to judge success: However, a meaningful conversation with customers has

While mobile and digital applications are targeted to not yet been initiated. Insurance products have even fewer
specific markets, such as funeral insurance, major initiatives touch points with customers, except for renewals and
are transforming back-office operations to become more claims if required. In this scenario, insurance companies can
cost-effective and reliable. Boosting the company's back- leverage their tie-ups with their distributors and explore
office efficiency without endangering the brokerage other businesses to cross-sell opportunities, driven by a
relationship will be key. Traditional insurance firms have digital operational backbone. This can help to bring
focused on making sales processes easier for the digital together insurers and other businesses to cover specific risks
customer, but primarily in non-life products because of the (One Need, One Product). In the digital context, the
strong position brokers and intermediaries still possess in customer acquires a complex digital identity.
life coverage.
For organizations, understanding the identity and
It is too early to judge success, but executives often need delivering customised outcomes becomes a priority. The
to explore the potential of a new distribution model. While organization has to continuously innovate and adapt to new
most insurers see the benefits of digital strategies, only a business models. This can be often achieved with help from
few have implemented them. As digital sales increase, the larger eco-system by building a network of partnerships.
expect companies to launch products that enhance the Such partnerships are loosely coupled through digital
customer journey. Even though digital channels have channels and can enable growth of penetration for
become a more significant method for selling insurance insurance companies.

May you live all the days of your life.

26 January - June 2020 Life Insurance Today