Our Editor in Chief  Mr. Vivek JAIN, in conversation with Mr. Karthik Raman, Chief Marketing Officer & Head – Products, IDBI Federal Life Insurance

Q1) During the last 4 months most of the fresh sales took place online, what was your experience like?

Due to the lockdown and rules around that, our sales representatives have been using the digital medium to engage with customers. We have both assisted and self-help modes as a part of our digital sales model. As seen with the rest of the industry, the bulk of our new business during this period has been happening through the digital medium.

Q2)     What was the contribution of agents in the last 4 months regarding fresh sales?

We are primarily a bancassurance-led company. The agency contribution is around 10% of our overall business volumes, however, due to lockdown, our agents have not been able to step out to engage with their customers and this has impacted our agency business. Having said that, we are in the process of digitally enabling our agency team and we are confident that they will bounce back to deliver reasonable business volumes.

Q3)     What was the contribution of brokers in the last 4 months regarding fresh sales?

The broking business is a very small and limited part of our overall business plan. As mentioned earlier, we are a Bancassurance-led company.

Q4)     Do you think online sales will take over traditional sales in the next 3 years?

Life Insurance continues to be a ‘sold’ product and this requires interaction with a sales representative. However, the last few months have clearly indicated that digital will play a big role in the sales process. It is possible that over time the sales interaction could move to the digital medium, and the sales conclusion could become entirely digital. The do-it-yourself mode has been in place for the last couple of years, but adoption has been slow which makes us believe that life insurance sales would continue along the traditional path for some more time to come.

Q5)     What future do you see for agents?

Be it agency or Bancassurance, the future remains as bright as it is today. While access to digital is easy in our country, adoption still remains a challenge. The fact is proved by the footfall one sees in banks; people still prefer to conduct their banking transactions in person at the bank despite the fact that it can be easily done digitally. And in the case of life insurance, even today people want to see, meet and physically interact with their agent or the bank before purchasing a plan. This mindset will ensure traditional distribution will continue to play a big role for some time to come.

Q6)     What future do you see for brokers?

As mentioned earlier, traditional channels will continue to do well for some time to come.