In 2023, India surpassed China to become the most populous country in the world with a current population of 140.76 crores. However, despite these figures, India’s insurance penetration remains abysmal. The penetration rate for life insurance stood at a mere three percent, while non-life insurance penetration was even lower at just one percent in 2022.
How can Insurers bridge this gaping divide between the ‘Insurance haves’ and the ‘have nots’?
We recently had an opportunity to interact with the leaders from Ageas Federal Life Insurance and discuss their ‘Reimagine Tomorrow’ program.
This initiative aims to infuse enthusiasm into the workforce through digital transformation, with the twin goals of enhancing customer satisfaction and refining customer targeting.
Here are excerpts from our conversation with Vighnesh Shahane (CEO and Managing Director, India), Hans Loozekoot (Chief Transformation Officer and Country Manager, India), and Ganesa Ratnam (Chief Distribution Officer, India).
On Building Lasting Relationships
Ageas Federal has earned recognition as one of India’s top three best workplaces in the insurance sector by Great Place to Work®. What’s the secret behind their happy customers?
Everything we do as an enterprise delivers on our purpose to provide means for people to live a life and lifestyle of their choice. By focusing on human relationships, we have not only achieved remarkable growth, but we have also been able to make a positive impact on the lives of our customers, employees, shareholders, and the community.
We live in a digitally enabled world. We want to be a constant, continuous companion of Trust on a daily basis to a customer right through his/ her lifespan. In short we want to be a great place to invest in, a great place to buy from and a great place to work for.
On Digital Transformation
My role involves overseeing the entire digital transformation program, internally dubbed ‘Reimagine Tomorrow.’ The biggest challenge with any transformation program is to ask people to change the way they work. It is my responsibility to explain why we are changing things and how it can be beneficial to our customers and our salespeople.
Insurance companies handle extensive data from various sources—customer information, policies, claims, risk assessments. To provide personalized experiences, agents need a seamless way to engage with customers. That’s where digitizing our manual interventions comes in.
For a digital-first insurance company, establishing a robust foundation for customer satisfaction and scalable business growth is essential. This foundation should be adaptable to regulatory changes and support nationwide expansion.
Ageas Federal leverages Vymo as a primary tool for managing sales activities. The platform links to the Federal Bank CRM system, facilitating lead distribution to salespeople from a central database. It serves as a powerful technological tool for supporting our sales teams.
On the Role of Relationship Managers in Bancassurance
I have 30 years of experience in the financial industry, 15 in Banking and 15
in Insurance – a perfect combo to address the Bancassurance landscape!
Bancassurance is pivotal for Ageas Federal, constituting 80 percent of our top-line revenue. The key to its success lies in understanding our banking partners. Achieving this requires a deep grasp of their culture, market, and customer segments, aligning our goals with theirs.
Our sales team collaborates closely with the bank on a daily basis.
This alignment is vital, as the productivity of a relationship manager (RM) hinges on customer satisfaction. An RM must realize they represent both the bank and the insurance company. Consistency in communication, delivering the right sales pitch, honoring commitments, follow-ups, and support until the last document is delivered—these factors leave a lasting impression. More satisfied customers result in more productive RMs!
