Health Insurance in India, JUST TIP OF THE ICEBERG!

I am very bullish on online sales; we are working on that which should be done in next few months. In addition to sales, we will make transactions also possible Online. Besides sales and transactions, we have also put claims tracking on it. We are investing in a big way to do all this online. We want to reach out to whole of Middle class India as upper classes are anyway over served. That is why penetration of non-life insurance is just .6% of GDP as every player is going back to the same customer. Hence there is no growth. In last 10 years it has gone up from .5% to .6% only whereas in life it has grown from less than 1% to 4%.

How do you see general insurance taking the next big step?

General Insurance companies are not addressing the market segments, which are totally away from benefits. Everybody is after same piece of business. Not many are growing their personal accident piece, or moving into rural or social sector. Likewise not many are serving the SMEs. All these hold great potential, which remains to be explored.

What kind of growth insurance sector can expect this fiscal and particularly Tata AIG?

TATA AIG has entered into high growth trajectory by way of its verticals catering to health segment, SME and SBS (Small Business Solutions). Rural markets being thrust area, special team has been put in place to tap the potential of rural markets.

We are looking at addressing the ultra top HNI segment in a major way. We will insure their precious belongings like yacht or art collection that will be done on concierge kind of basis. This way we are aligning ourselves on specific customer segment rather than on the lines of business. Three important growth areas identified by us are - rural, SME and health. In commercialized business we are already leading the industry. We grew at 20% whereas industry posted negative growth. We are number one in liabilities and marine and cargo among private players and number two in all other than motor and personal accident.  

What can we expect in the near future and what is your message to our readers?

Slowdown has brought down business dramatically. Post elections, it looks like that economy is shaping up and the US economy is also slated to come back in the third quarter. Economic indicators are looking up but growth of the industry since January has been quite negative.

I hope that the trend will reverse as all indicators are leading towards a hard market, rates will start hardening soon.

About Tata AIG General

Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIG General) is a joint venture company, formed by the Tata Group and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Tata AIG General combines the Tata Group’s pre-eminent leadership position in India and AIG’s global presence as the world’s leading international insurance and financial services organization. The Tata Group holds 74 per cent stake in the insurance venture with AIG holding the balance 26 percent. Tata AIG General Insurance Company, which started its operations in India on January 22, 2001, offers complete range of general insurance for motor, home, accident & health, travel, energy, marine, property and casualty, liability as well as several specialized financial lines.