LIC to play key role in achieving 'Insurance For All' by 2047: Chairman

In a bid to achieve 'Insurance For All by 2047', LIC will play a significant role, and to meet that objective, it is planning to launch a product, especially designed for rural areas.

"The focus would be how to cover maximum rural masses who actually need insurance. In coming days, the rural share will also go up to our total business kitty," LIC Chairman Siddhartha Mohanty told PTI.

He said to achieve the objective of 'Insurance For All by 2047', LIC will play a very significant role, and in that direction, the insurer has already started working.

"I must thank the regulator. The regulator IRDAI has already proposed 'Bima Vistar', a composite product. The product will consist of life, health, and property insurance," he said.

To sell those products Bima Vahak would be engaged, he said, adding, that it will be a women-centric distribution channel model.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call to make India a developed nation by 2047 when the country achieves 100 years of independence from British rule. As of now, India is the fifth largest economy in the world, but insurance penetration is low compared to the global average.

In June this year, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) came out with draft guidelines for 'Bima Vahaks', which seeks to establish a dedicated distribution channel at the level of Gram Panchayats.

The guidelines proposed Corporate Bima Vahaks and Individual Bima Vahaks for the distribution channel. Corporate Bima Vahak would be legal persons registered per the respective laws and engaged by an insurer.

Individual Bima Vahak could be any individual appointed by an insurer or appointed by a Corporate Bima Vahak.

Meanwhile, LIC has initiated a total digital transformation project DIVE (Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement) and appointed a consultant to steer the project. "Our objective is to get best-in-class digital initiatives for all our stakeholders, customers, intermediaries, marketing people and everybody through the project DIVE," he said.

In the first phase, the customer acquisition part is going to be transformed, he said. Customer acquisition is done through three modes--agent, bancassurance and direct sale. LIC gets most of its new customers through its agents.

Subsequently, other areas would see the transformation, he said, adding, that services like claims settlement, loans and other services will be made available at the click of a button.

"Customers need not come to the office. Sitting at home on his mobile he can access our required services...We are focussing on fintech as well and will harness its potential in expanding business," he said.

LIC is also exploring options of having its own fintech arm that can be developed as a business model, he added.