“We are targeting the empowered youth”

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: Sector Life Insurer in the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2007. The previous year Bajaj Allianz Life was not even among the top 5. It is among the top 50 service brands in the AC Nielsen Most Trusted Brands survey, one of the youngest brands in the list. The brand also had the highest recall among private sector life insurance companies in the CNBC TV18 and IIMS research. Bajaj Allianz has the most effective life insurance advertising as per an independent industry survey mapping all insurance company ads.

Globally, Allianz has a more pronounced retail approach compared to its rivals. Are you following a similar strategy in India?

India is a mass market with volumes and we have adopted a multi-channel strategy across urban and non-urban areas.

We currently have one of the largest distribution networks in the private sector with over 1,000 offices in over 900 towns and have over 2.5 lakh agents. We have tie-ups with leading banks like Standard Chartered Bank, Syndicate Bank and over 200 other different types of banks (co-operative banks, district co-op banks, rural banks etc), NGOs, SHGs (self-help groups) and financial institutions etc.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance was the first private sector life insurance company to enter the non-urban markets with our own offices in 2004. We started the Bajaj Allianz Banyan Tree distribution model—a hub and spoke distribution strategy to enable penetration across the country, which is now being followed by most others to penetrate the non-urban areas.

Can you elaborate on this unconventional distribution strategy Bajaj Allianz has used in the country? Small towns and local recruits seem to be the major planks of this strategy.

We have a decentralised model of expanding distribution across the country. In a vast country like India reach is very important to grow—unless one is able to reach the customer at their doorstep it would be difficult to get more people to buy insurance. As we all know, insurance is sold and never bought. Agents need to create the need for the product especially in emerging markets like India. Research has shown that for the middle class the list of future purchases has all kinds of luxury brands—because they have the disposable income—but life insurance is the last thing on their minds.