Shriram Life Insurance Company (SLIC) on Thursday said the firm is planning to maximise rural penetration and double its business through several digital initiatives and platforms.
Currently, Shriram Life Insurance employs several digital channels through which agents and customers can access its life insurance products and services. Astra, an agent-facing mobile app, is one of its frequently used client onboarding platforms. In the first nine months of FY23 alone, the company on-boarded 80% new retail customers through Astra app.
As per the plan, SLIC plans to double its rural penetration from 44%, digital payments from 48% to 70% and double the revenue from individual business policy to Rs 1,000 crore from Rs 525 crore by FY25.
Casparus JH Kromhout, MD & CEO, SLIC, said, “Our digital initiatives are focused on our purpose to extend life insurance to the segments of society that need it most – especially the rural and mass market segments. Technology and innovation enable us to reach and service our customers more efficiently. It provides more options for our customers and deepens our association and engagement with them.”
Jointly promoted by South Africa’s Sanlam Group and Shriram Group, SLIC received Irdai approval for e-KYC through all modes, including facial recognition. The company, as of now, carries out 48% of all its payments digitally.
The company on Thursday launched Shriram Smart Suraksha Card, its latest attempt at combining its rural digital enablement programme with its flagship service excellence programme, We Care. The Smart Suraksha Card gives instant access to customers’ digital policy bond. Through its QR codes, customers can opt to pay renewal premiums within a few taps.
“Currently, the card will be issued to the new policy holders. It will have the picture of the policy holder as well as the sponsorer,” Kromhout said.
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The company, which operates through 423 branches across 23 states, offers coverage at an average ticket size of around Rs 19,000 – among the lowest in the private insurance segment. As of Q3FY22, Shriram Life’s chatbot ShriA and its WhatsApp platform have seen close to 2.3 lakh users and 3.44 lakh customers.
In the same period, Shriram Life Insurance reported 70,291 new policies, the highest compared to the last four years. Backed by strong growth in the rural market, the company’s digital innovation is aimed at reaching more customers across different regions in India.
KRC Sekhar, MD, SLIC, said: “We plan to go 100% paperless for issuing policy documents. For this, the penetration in rural areas will be accelerated with the help of agents and technology.”
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SLIC is promoted by Shriram Group and South Africa-based financial services group Sanlam. It offers comprehensive protection and long-term savings life insurance solutions, with close to 44% of their clients being from rural areas and have a network of 423 offices across India. Shriram Life Insurance’s assets under management (AUM) as of December 2022 stands at Rs 8,573 crore. It reported net profit of Rs 106 crore in FY21 and Rs 3 crore in FY22 and hopes to garner about Rs 150 crore in profit for FY23.