Page 8 - The Insurance Times July 2020
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eign travel for the insurers' chairman,  or product manufacturers (Tesla) offer  The number of Gen X and older cus-
         managing directors, directors and gen-  to-notch consumer experience, said  tomers making daily online and mobile
         eral managers, unless to acquire fresh  the report.                   transactions has doubled, rising from
         international business or negotiating  Sample this data point: while only 17  30 per cent of Gen X (those born be-
         reinsurance agreements.            per cent of Capgemini's World Insur-  fore 1980) and older respondents in
                                            ance Report 2016 survey respondents  2018 to 64 per cent in 2020.
         Bajaj Allianz General              said they would consider purchasing in-  The Covid-19 lockdown will further fuel
         launches BAGIV GOQii Co-           surance from BigTech, the number has  this trend as consumers are forced to
                                            doubled (36 per cent) this year.   use digital channels for day-today
         pay option                         Clearly, customer behaviour is shifting  transactions irrespective of age or tech
         Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has  in favour of BigTech insurance provid-  know-how.
         tied up with GOQii, a smart-tech en-  ers as customers feel empowered to
         abled preventive healthcare platform,  forego agents and brokers and work  ECGC to help exporters in
         and launched a new add-on health   directly with new entrants.
         cover called 'BAGIC GOQii Co-pay Op-                                  new markets
         tion' under regulatory sandbox ap-  This should sound alarm bells for in-  The Export Credit Guarantee Corpora-
                                            cumbent insurers as their long stand-
         proval received from IRDAI. This option                               tion (ECGC) is ready to support export-
         will be an add-on cover which can be  ing hold on customer trust can no  ers in their endeavour to expand to
         opted for by the holders of company's  longer be assumed. Insurers seeking to  new markets especially to Africa and
                                            retain or jump start customer sticki-
         existing health insurance policy, Health                              Latin America, said ECGC chairman and
         Ensure.                            ness, loyalty, and confidence must shift  managing director M Senthilnathan
                                            their experience-led engagement ef-
         The policy will start with a co-pay of 50  forts into high gear, the report sug-  during a webinar organized by CII. The
         per cent on the completion of day 60,  gested.                        session deliberated upon the need for
         after which the insured can check his/                                cost-effective insurance to drive ex-
         her engagement level and co-pay level  To remain relevant, incumbent insur-  ports and bring back growth in the
         on the GOQii app itself, every 30 days.  ers must take action by re-evaluating  economy.
         Based on the engagement level, the  their portfolios and harnessing part-  Senthilnathan mentioned that ECGC is
         co-pay percentage will change. The  nerships to become 'Inventive Insur-  working under pandemic-related re-
         maximum co-pay level would not be  ers'. This involves shaping existing prod-  strictions but it is trying to provide ser-
         more than 50 per cent. The option can  ucts to meet fast evolving customer  vices to their clients, who are affected
         be availed by individual policyholders  needs and preferences.        due to Covid-containment measures.
         with a policy tenure of one year with  The entry of product manufacturers
         an insured sum of Rs. 3 lakh, Rs. 4 lakh  such as Tesla into insurance may mark  "The crisis is much worse compared to
         or Rs. 5 lakh.                     a critical juncture for the insurance  the one witnessed after global finan-
                                            industry, according to the report.  cial meltdown a decade earlier. The
         'Customers' appetite for           Product manufacturers have a keen  working capital cycle of almost all the
                                                                               business units have been impacted.
         BigTech insurance rising           understanding of their products and  ECGC will be playing a counter cyclical
                                            their customers, details an insurer may
         fast                               not have. Besides, product manufac-  role. It recognizes that the situation
         Customers' willingness to purchase in-  turers collect real-time customer data  calls for some credit accommodation
         surance from big technological firms is  using IoT devices or mobile apps.  and credit insurers need to take high
                                                                               risks," he added.
         rising fast, the Capgemini and Efma's  Leveraging this asymmetric information,
         World Insurance Report 2020 has    product manufacturers could aggres-  Sanjay Budhia, chairman, CII National
         shown. This is a clear pointer that con-  sively price insurance offerings and put  Committee on EXIM, said that in these
         sumers - who demand superior experi-  incumbents at a disadvantage, the re-  trying times, managing credit risk and
         ence in terms of ease of purchase and  port noted. Noting that digital adoption  taking protection against unforeseen
         convenience - are eager to take a  is no longer a function of age but is now  losses has assumed further importance
         chance when non-traditional firms such  mainstream across generations, the re-  and there is a need to increase the
         as digitally-agile BigTechs (such as  port highlighted that the ' millennial  flow of bank credit to export sector
         Google, Amazon, Facebook, Alibaba)  mindset' has transcended age.     and timely settlement of claims.

           8  The Insurance Times, July 2020
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