Expertspeak: Find ways to catch customers young

For the general insurance industry, 2016 will be a year of comprehensive and longterm products. With regulatory changes, more products, which will require renewals after two or three years, will be launched. These cost-effective policies will help keep inflation at bay by allowing customers to lock into a price at the time of purchase.

The industry will incentivise online renewals and DIY apps where the buying process can be completed in less than five minutes. While this means convenience, mobility and transparency for the customer, it will help insurers improve operational efficiency.

Technology-driven solutions are being adopted for fraud management and risk inspection for improved efficiency. Based on unique identification details of a customer, the insurance company will be able to recognise claim habits. It will thus be easy to identify a fraudulent claim and manage the same further.

Regulatory changes in the current year have been proconsumer and promoted insurance penetration. With health insurance becoming popular, customers will see value-addition in these covers. Keeping the concept of prevention at the crux, innovative wellness and OPD products will also be the new trend. Currently, OPD is mainly about consultation, diagnostic and pharmacy. Wellness and preventive aspects of OPD are fast catching up.

Insurers will come up with cashless, cost-effective and need based solutions in OPD. The newly announced government insurance schemes have helped improve social security awareness. However, these products cover people and assets at a very basic level for risks which are infrequent and catastrophic in nature. It would be great if more such government schemes are launched for various other product categories. They always help in creating a buzz and spread awareness about other risk categories. Regulatory changes to promote savings-linked products will also be really beneficial for customers.

The industry is also experimenting to find ways to catch customers young, tap the millennial consumer to help them insure early. The first step towards this is to promote fast, on-the-go and hassle-free purchase, which is possible through the mobility platforms. Insurers have to make app based purchases as well as servicing more seamless. Interactive social media and harnessing affinity groups for tie-ups are also great ways to reach this target segment.

However, the general insurance industry still lacks product options and innovation in riskier segments like customers with pre-existing diseases, specific conditions and senior citizens. It’s high time we come up with a better deal for these customers.