Behind The Winds Of Change
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As managing director of India’s largest life-insurance firm, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, Usha Sangwan’s role is vast and diverse. She not only looks after customer relations and marketing, but also technology adaptation and social media.
Sangwan has been instrumental in setting up direct-marketing channels, a directional shift for LIC’s largely agent-driven business model. The key issues were whether a direct channel to consumers would work and whether traditional agents would accept the change. From day one though, the direct-marketing channel proved to be a rousing success. It now conducts business of more than Rs 700 crore. Says Sangwan: “LIC decided that we have to engage the younger generation online and through technology if we wish to tap them for insurance. For consumers, the process was simple; hence, we added no costs and, right from day one, the channel was profitable.”
Sangwan also opened up communications with customers through social media such as Facebook. And, while apprehensions arose about being on social media, the move proved positive, with over 60 lakh followers on Facebook.
Sangwan also has an enviable customer-relationship record. As an organisation, LIC has one of the best claim-settlement ratios in the industry — a consistent 99.45 per cent for the last few years — despite it being a mammoth organisation, which processes more than 1.5 crore claims every year. Besides, this year the Corporation is on track to achieve its target of Rs 38,000 crore in new-business premiums. “I have got great results, and good support from my team,” says Sangwan.
For Sangwan, the next big focus area is to see LIC consolidate and its market share swell. The Corporation has more than Rs 27 lakh crore in assets, over 11 lakh agents and about 1.2 lakh employees. Sangwan is also gearing up for one of the biggest challenges — that of getting more people insured. “We have covered hardly 30 crore people out of 100 crore insurables. We want products suited to every segment so that no insurable in India is uninsured.”
