Page 46 - Insurance Times October 2023

SEMINAR REPORT

Agents Meet

Organised by General Insurance Agents Welfare Organisation of India
(GIAWOI) in association with United India Insurance Company Limited on
26th August 2023 at Indumati Sabhagriha, Kolkata

The seminar started with welcome speech by Sri Gour combination of lot of things. It is about interaction – entire
Gopal Ghosh, President & Chairman of Organising experience – how the behaviour, the attitude the customer
Committee, GIAWOI. In the Introductory address, Mr. received – it is the entire intangible perception of the
Sudipta Sarkar, General Secretary, GIAWOI apprised about custom that matters. It is not only about price – the
some recent steps taken by the Government of India which premium of cause is a matter but the service that is provided
is going to pose a major challenge for profession of 16 lakhs that matters.
General Insurance Agents, the key stakeholders of the Product differentiation is what that matters in service-
industry of 2,60,000 Crores.
oriented insurance. In Insurance we sell service mainly and
The Govt notification "Insurance Regulatory and not the product only. The service behind selling the product,
Development Authority of India (Payment of Commission) matters.
Regulation 2023", mentions ' No insurer carrying on General Shri N.C. Mondal, Deputy General Manager, United India
Insurance Business in India shall include Expenses of Insurance Company Ltd, Regional Office- Kolkata spoke on
Management (EOM) in excess of 30% of gross premium "Market trend and Opportunities in General Insurance" He
underwritten in India in a financial year'. As per the previous shared his experience having witnessed the transformation
clause the Agents' remuneration was capped to 30% of gross of this industry since its inception in the 1980s.
premium.
He added that when he embarked on his journey in this field,
But, as per the current regulation the remuneration of we could count the number of General Insurance companies
agents have been included in the EOM. So apprehension was on one hand - a mere four. Fast forward today, we find
all over that the agents' commission would certainly be ourselves amidst a landscape bustling with 34 players. This
curtailed in the new scenario. He raised concerns that the exponential growth signifies the immense potential that our
Agents may have to bear the burnt by capping of expenses market holds. Yet, let's not be blinded by numbers; despite
by Insurers. its growth, our market's penetration remains
dishearteningly low, accounting for only about 4% of India's
Mr. Basudev Sanyal, DGM, UIIC, HO spoke on ‘Strategies
GDP. Our challenge, and our opportunity, lies in expanding
for Enhanced Customer Engagement. He quoted Mahatma
Gandhi who once said, “A customer is the most important this reach.
visitor in our premises. He is not dependent on us, we are In the early days, our market thrived behind closed doors.
dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work; Today, it stands as an open market. We cannot
he is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business, underestimate the value of pricing in this equation.
he is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving However, we must also acknowledge the vast expanses that
him.” remain unexplored -where insurance isn't just a reactive
solution but a proactive choice. It's not merely about
So the customer is the very purpose of our business –
responding to an event; it's about anticipating the future
purpose of the event agent. To retain a customer is a
and safeguarding it.
challenge – converting the lead – to make custom, loyal
customer. A satisfied customer brings six more customers. The potential before us is astronomical, akin to a satellite
Customer Satisfaction is about perceived value. It is journeying to the moon. As we embrace this potential, let's

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