June 25, 2015
General insurance players in India believe that companies in the sector are likely to take a segmented or specialist approach based on their strengths, and offer products accordingly, over the next several years. .
“General insurers will need to specialise over the next 10 years. This will help build expertise especially with more and more online sales happening,” The Economic Times reported, citing Mr KG Krishnamoorthy Rao, Managing Director & CEO of Future Generali General Insurance. For instance, some non-life companies may function online primarily; some may specialise in certain geographical areas or specific products; while others may be boutique companies. .
Whatever the option that might be chosen, however, general insurance players will have to continue selling a few common products mandated by the insurance regulator like third party motor insurance. Industry observers feel that smaller companies or new entrants which adopt a specialist approach would gain market share. Mr Naval Goel, Founder & CEO of PolicyX.com, an insurance comparison portal, said: “Customers are looking for value from insurers, and to offer value companies will have to distinguish themselves. .
.” Many insurers might consider spinning off their health business as a standalone operation, he added. Already, companies like Reliance Capital and Aditya Birla Financial Services Group are exploring the possibility of setting up separate health insurance companies. “General insurance companies in India today try and sell products to all customer segments across all geographies. This would change as they migrate to what they can do best. This specialist approach would also help companies develop a deep understanding of specific fields and bundle their products and services to cater to specific needs. This will help the industry grow,” said Mr Rakesh Jain, CEO of Reliance General Insurance.