Ghosh: Aiming big

Bangkok, Aug.19: Reliance Life Insurance Company has set a target to become one of the top three private life insurers in the country both in terms of the policies sold and new business premium.

Though Reliance Life comes second only to ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company in policies sold, it lags behind five in new business premium.

In an interview to The Telegraph in Bangkok, president and executive director of the company, Malay Ghosh, said the insurer was confident of achieving its target despite the absence of a bancasssurance partner.

“As of now, we are No. 2 in the number of policies sold. We hope that as the year progresses and on the back of the initiatives that we have taken, we will regain our top position. If not, even the No. 2 slot is not bad considering that we do not have a bank as our partner. In distribution, we are a mass player.”

He said the business gap created by the absence of a bancasssurance partner could not be filled quickly. “However, we expect that a focus on customer experience will enable us to bridge that gap.’’

Ghosh said besides continuing with its good performance in policy sales, the company aims to be among the top in terms of premium.

“Our aim is to be among the top three companies not just in the number of policies but also in premium within three years. In fact, that is the vision given to us by our promoters also,” he said.

Reliance Life is planning to achieve this through a mix of better product profile, improved customer service and distribution network.

It has submitted proposals for three products on health, pension and group insurance to the regulator. It will simultaneously bring in a unit-linked policy for high net-worth individuals, a health insurance and a traditional money back policy. The company plans to launch these six products before September 30.

On the distribution front, the company is hiring nearly 50,000 advisers this fiscal, taking the total number to over 1.70 lakh.

Reliance Life, in which Nippon Life of Japan holds 26 per cent, has also taken a leaf out of the latter’s customer service practices. It has launched an initiative, which mandates its adviser or agent to visit existing customers at least once a year, not to collect premium but to review the customer’s policies in the light of his current insurance needs.