• The insurance industry is at the cusp of a significant change, and most of the changes aim to reach the entire population of India and make insurance services easier for the consumer. What is the present state of consumer experience, and how do you view it for the future?

As we all know, India is struggling in improving its insurance penetration because the potential customers are yet to perceive the value of various insurance products made available through Government Schemes and insurance-regulated entities.  The present state of consumer experience is not encouraging, which is reflected in the data emerging from various studies conducted by experts. We need customer-centric products to cover the risk of individuals and family members. Unfortunately in India, social security is not made available to the citizens and they are all left to themselves to think about their future or depend on a family support system, which most of the time is inadequate. We have to make every individual access critical products to cover life, health, and the old age pension. India has a great opportunity waiting for the insurance industry but not in the manner it has got rolled out to date globally. It has to be India Centric, Customer Centric with a focus to cover the RISKS of the citizens who are at the bottom of the pyramid. We have to innovate and discover products that are pro-consumer and easy to access through the use of technology. 

• Motor and health are the segments with which ordinary people constantly interact with insurance services. What are the 2-3 steps that can transform the consumer experience and the image of the insurance companies in India?

We must convince the industry to develop a relationship-building exercise to sustain the consumers. Most of the time we forget the policyholders once the insurance products are sold. We only remember them when the time for renewal comes and that is also not in a user-friendly manner. We never try to network with the policyholders during the tenure by making surprise calls to understand their changing lifestyles and risk management. The most important step is to make policyholders feel the insurance companies are trusted friends and not profit-making machines.  

• How the consumer expectations are different in the insurance industry compared to consumers in any other services-related industry?

When we purchase any service, we look for quality, safety, and customer delight, unlike insurance. When we purchase insurance, we look for a trustworthy friend who would reach us when we are in trouble and support us to overcome our unforeseen events. Insurance covers our RISKS and on the other hand, other services make us prone to RISKS.  We can not compare apples with oranges. The insurance business is a serious ethical business without compromising on the promises made and is a noble activity as it reaches you when you need financial support and compensation.  

• If you must advise insurance buyers what products they should necessarily buy to protect their way of life, what could they be?

I strongly feel life, health, long-term disability, and auto insurance are the four types of insurance every citizen in our country must purchase. The government has made it mandatory to purchase third-party auto insurance. Similarly, we want Government to make life, health, and long-term disability mandatory by promoting products like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana(PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana(PMSBY) for every bank account holder to purchase without any discrimination. 

• Can consumers' attitudes be changed from expecting benefits from the insurance to viewing it as an essential risk management tool to cope with unforeseen emergencies?

Yes, we can. We have to be innovative and creative to make insurance products a delight rather than a burden on the consumer. It was traditionally always seen as a tax-saving instrument only because the potential customers were made to buy for such a purpose. We have to now move towards building awareness and empowering the consumers to make an informed choice with shreds of evidence to measure individual insurance needs. Our sole motive should be to provide social security and cover all such risks, which could be devasting for the family or the individual. If we can bring a customer-centric culture within the insurance industry in India, the right attitude toward buying insurance products can be converted into customer delight. 

•  What industry should do to increase the confidence of customers in insurance services?

The industry should extend prompt financial support to the customers to build trust, which is missing today. Insurance is a relationship-building product, which delivers trust and confidence. It involves asking the customer for their contribution in return for a contractual agreement made on a promise. The bottom line is the prompt settlement of the claim, without triggering a dispute.  Today the citizens are not comfortable with the word INSURANCE because most of the potential customers do not look at it as an investment but as an expenditure. The industry has to launch a massive public awareness campaign led by customers who have benefitted from insurance as spokespersons. Unfortunately, we are reading every day about the weaknesses of the insurance industry. We have to convert our negatives into positives.

• Health, home motor, and travel are standard policies bought by the people in India but also have the maximum number of grievances against the insurers. What should be done to improve the grievance redressal system in India for insurance buyers?

 We need to use technology to enable policyholders to get connected with the regulated entities on the phone when they need prompt redressal 24X7 and not keep the policyholders waiting for redressal or directed to move from pillar to post. It is most unfortunate that when things go wrong and we need credible guidance, which is today missing. The policyholders do not find reliable and efficient grievance redressal mechanisms.  We only need an effective and efficient redressal system in place, which allows consumers to share their grievances or seek information to bring clarity on the features of the insurance products in a simple and easy-to-understand language in the manner the consumers desire from the regulated insurance entities. I am sure the insurance industry will use more technology in the coming years to address issues and make the products accountable and transparent to the customers. They must promote mediation rather than litigation.