Meet Your NEW INSURANCE Salesman

For the longest time, insurance selling was synonymous with the ubiquitous LIC agent — in some cases, a part of the extended Indian family. But selling insurance is no longer what it used to be. The brick-and-mortar sales model is giving way to the world of clicks and online engagement

    Even though it's a small player in terms of market share, Aegon Religare does have a couple of firsts to its credit — the KILB (Kum Insurance Lene Ki Bimari) campaign which is remembered for its clutter-breaking treatment. And perhaps more pertinent to the story at hand, it stuck its neck out in 2009 to launch the first ever insurance product sold exclusively online. Says Yateesh Srivastava, chief marketing officer, Aegon Religare Life Insurance, "Back then it was seen mostly as a kite-flying project that would die a natural death. Nobody really thought it would grow to a distribution channel." Apparently, even regulatory authorities asked to be informed the day 10 policies were sold. Much has changed since then for both the brand and the category. Today online sales comprise 30% of the total volume business for Aegon Religare. Online is here to stay. And this time, it's a medium to close the last mile. 
    The largest player in insurance, LIC has a 
marketshare of over 80% and an army of nearly 1.2 million agents. But the insurance giant is among those who've realised the power of going online. As per a LIC spokesperson, "the need emerges from the changing customer profile. Today's young, tech savvy executives are looking at ease of access to make purchases." Consumer trends point to the growing importance of "time saving" and "convenience" in all spheres. Adds Manish Dubey, head - marketing, ICICI Prudential Life, "Two basic characteristics of onlineinsurance are 'safety of payments' and 'simple products.' With the increase in online banking transactions, more consumers are becoming comfortable with online payments." As per studies, most buyers are males aged between 28-40 in SEC A & B with an income of over 10 lakh per annum. From a psychographic point of view they are comfortable with technology and seekers of information online. They also welcome a non-intermediated sales process. 
    What makes the affinity for online purchase all the more surprising is the nature of insurance. It's an entity that is relevant but seldom gets adequate attention. Ajay Kakar, chief marketing officer - financial services, Aditya Birla Group admits, "It is not even a felt need by most people who can benefit from it. And this reality is reflected in the fact that despite 38 of the world's best brands continuously investing in this high ad-spend category in India, penetration-levels are as low as 15% of household savings." Even those who have taken a policy, in all probability are heavily under-insured. This explains the industrymaxim that"insurance is sold, and not bought." It is a 'high-touch' category, with sales a byproduct of many across-the-table interactions between prospect and agent. So is all that set to change? For sure, if industry experts are to be believed. 
    For one, ecommerce is becoming a big-ticket industry. Estimates indicate that the market in India is set to grow the fastest within Asia-Pacific, a CAGR of over 57% between 2012-2016. The industry is piggybacking on this growth. Says Anisha Motwani, chief marketing officer, Max Life Insurance, "From a mere 10 crore annually 3 years back, online life insurance sales have come to exceed over 100 crore in the previous 12 months." She estimates the pie will increase to over 250 crore by 2014. 
    Better pricing tops the list of reasons to buy online. While the extent of saving depends on age, health, lifestyle and term of the policy, online plans can be anything between 15% to 70% cheaper. Points out C h a n d r a m o h a n Mehra, head - brand and cross sell, SBI Life, "Increasingly customers are searching for product information and comparing features on the internet before they shop for life insurance in a real environment." They are more likely to make a better-informed decision compared to the offline sales process driven by agents. 
    And so insurance brands that previously spent time training the best agents are now working to understand the path to conversion of users and catalysts along this journey. Vivek Bhargava, chief executive officer of a leading search marketing firm, iProspectCommunicate 2, says, "The deployment of technology allows us to understand and accordingly deploy the social platforms better. The keywords that have led to a sale, typically, give us a lot of insight on what people are searching more of and also what could be leading to those searches." For instance the growth of "term insurance" is primarily because these products are easier to understand and the user requires limited clarifications. 
    Agrees Motwani, "The 'research online, purchase offline' (ROPO) behaviour is being observed across lifeinsurance and in the light of this consumer behaviour, it becomes imperative for brands to anticipate the possible digital touchpoints, and build and sustain communication." Brands will have to evolve and strengthen digital assets, as it increasingly becomes a convergence point for research, engagement, acquisition and service. Says Sanjay Tripathy, head - marketing and direct channels, HDFC Life, "Finally this entire shift will bring a lower cost of acquisition, help companies provide cheaper products, and optimise distribution costs as well." 
    From a media planning perspective, it allows for targeted options instead of carpet-bombing. Says Gaurav Rajput, director - marketing at Aviva India, "Typically we segregate target groups basis their propensity to buy online, visit banking sites, the kind of transactions conducted and what they read about the category. Specific online products can be pushed on the medium." He surmises general as well as life insurance will drive the growth. Motor, travel and health see a greater shift towards online, as these products lend themselves to comparison of features and prices. 
    If brand engagement used to mean a meeting with the agent, it means a whole lot more now. There are premium reminders, query resolution, policy management and premium calculators among the suite of services offered to existing customers. Brands are doing their best to make themselves preferred and Facebook has emerged as the lead battleground. 
    Motwani is certain that advertising on the site doesn't lead to sales in the short term. But the primary expectation for Max Life and indeed its competitors is engagement. The players boast of likes that number in lakhs. 
    Max Life Insurance claims to be in the lead with 4.75 lakh members. Its 'Khushiyon Ki Planning' platform encourages long term planning and sharing the right insurance advice. SBI Life offers content around topics like 'things to do before buying life insurance, 'letting policyholders know their rights and responsibilities', 'e-life insurance dictionary'. It was the first to establish a presence on Facebook and Twitter. The page is branded as "Celebrate Life" and not SBI Life, aligned to the brand campaigns in more traditional media. Aviva's gone both the digital and activation route with 'The Aviva Great Wall of Education', which seeks to donate books to needy children. Says Rajput, "In a 'low engagement' category, on a medium that's all about 'engagement', brand communication needs to move to 'brand conversations' and 'story telling' for a meaningful connect." 
    Amidst this talk of digital and online being gamechangers, Kakar cautions that it can never entirely replace 'human engagement'. Creating a felt need (for insurance) and answering the doubts that come along with this seemingly complex-to-understand category can best be met only through human interactions is his view. The good news is agents who adapt to new technologies are helped by enriched data and better analysis. 
    Finally both types of customer segments co-exist today — those preferring to purchase online and those more comfortable with an agent. Ultimately it is the customer who decides. Says Dubey, "I believe it is not about how net savvy our consumers are, it is about how consumer savvy can our net offering become."

Increasingly customers are searching for product information and comparing features on the Internet before they shop for life insurance in a real environment 
    Chandramohan Mehra, 
    HEAD - BRAND AND 
    CROSS SELL, SBI LIFE

Typically we segregate target groups basis their propensity to buy online, visit banking sites, the kind of transactions conducted and what they read about the category. Specific online products, thus, can be pushed on the medium 
    Gaurav Rajput 
    DIRECTOR - MARKETING, 
    AVIVA INDIA