Witnessed A Big April Surge In Business: Alok Bansal

Policybazaar recorded a 35-40% growth in sales in April despite the start of the new financial year traditionally being a lean season for insurance purchases. Investors usually make last-ditch insurance investments around February and March to fulfill their investment commitments linked to saving of tax.  

“Post Diwali, the insurance volumes pick up and this happens until March, which is usually the month for growth in business, especially for life insurance. When the lockdown started other sales channels disappeared. As a result, we witnessed a considerable jump in sales with customers opting for online purchases,” said Alok Bansal, Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer, Policybazaar. 

A sharp uptick in this period indicates people are now buying insurance not merely as a tax-saving instrument but as protection against death, disease, and disability faced with an unprecedented global pandemic.

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In fact, both life and health insurance are witnessing a surge in demand. “ Last month was better than anticipated because we had made some projections based on a historical drop from March, but because of the lockdown, we were able to increase our market share. In several cases, the conversation time the customers took in the run-up to a purchase reduced considerably. The conversion rate was higher,” Bansal added.

During the lockdown, Policybazaar seamlessly moved its contact centre support which includes sales and service, inbound and outbound teleservices to work from home. 

“We have about 13,000 employees. We were able to make the switch to work from home without a glitch because we use everything in-house. Even our CRM was developed in-house. It was easy to move to work remotely and nothing has changed from the customer experience perspective. Now that the telemedicals have started, we have seen much higher conversion numbers in April, and that has been quite encouraging for Policybazaar,” Bansal added.

Policybazaar is now able to onboard customers faster thanks to technology and automation. To this end, the company has tied-up with insurers to provide a telemedical facility for customers who do not wish to step out of their homes to undergo a medical test before purchasing an insurance cover.

“ Earlier, a physical medical test was required for buyers with a higher age profile, pre-existing disease, or when the sum assured high. Since companies have seen the quality of business that we have been able to deliver for the last many years, they have started to look at customer service through Policybazaar differently. They have realized that this is an important and a high-quality channel for them,” he added.  

“Earlier a physical medical test would get triggered for a customer when buying a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover. However, now even though customers are buying an insurance cover for a higher sum assured but don’t have a higher risk, they can get the policy issued easily through telemedicals,” said Bansal.

Telemedical is a process that replaces the need to visit a doctor or a diagnostic center with a phone call, which is arranged by the insurers, wherein questions related to existing medical conditions and illnesses are asked by a verified doctor.

“In health insurance, earlier, even though there were telemedicals, about 7-8% telemedicals would convert into a physical medical test. Now, this has come down to 5%,” he added.

(Article edited by: Sunny Lamba)

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