'I am very happy to see that the work is starting to bear some fruit now.'
Shriram Life Insurance Company, a joint venture between the Shriram Group and South Africa-based Sanlam Ltd, is targeting a three-fold rise in its business by 2030.
Casparus J H Kromhout, managing director and CEO of Shriram Life talks to Shine Jacob/Business Standard in a virtual interaction about its growth roadmap and industry outlook, among others.
The number of your policies increased by 131 per cent during the first quarter. Your assets under management (AUM) also crossed Rs 11,000 crore.
Where would you like to see yourself by 2030?
By 2030, it would be about 3x of where we are now. That means, when you look at AUM, we will be around Rs 35,000 crore.
We're very fortunate that a lot of work has been done since 2017 on innovation, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), technology, business models, and products.
I am very happy to see that the work is starting to bear some fruit now.
It's not like in manufacturing, where you have to invest in building a whole new plant.
Here, you have to incrementally build your channels. You have to incrementally look at new business models.
What is your strategy concerning your rural business?
How do you assess plans like Bima Vistaar, which is an all-in-one insurance product by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai)?
Rural is a big focus for us, right from the start. I think now it is around 42-44 per cent of our business.
On the other hand, the industry average is around 20 per cent.
Shriram has always been reaching out to rural customers.
So, we have the benefit of being part of a family that is also rural focused.
We would like to push that across 50 per cent, maybe in the next two to three years.
Bima Vistaar is very good, and it's really a good innovation by the regulator.
I think we, as an industry, should have done that a long time ago.
This is the first attempt to bring a solution to a family where it provides life insurance, health insurance, and general insurance altogether.
I think that's really a good step in the right direction.
Combo solutions are required for customers -- something that solves a few things for them so that they don't have to run from pillar to post.
What will be the role of new technologies like AI in achieving the growth goal?
If you look at our premium size of Rs 21,000 annually, it is a fraction of the average premium size of the industry, which is around Rs 80,000.
Hence, technology is extremely critical for us, as we have a large volume business with a lower premium size.
To keep that profitable, you have to be very innovative, and rely on technology.
We are consistently bringing in technology, like the Astra application for agents, through which more than 90 per cent of our business is coming.
Also, in analytics -- we've been using some form of AI since 2017 -- we keep improving that.
We've recently appointed a chief technology officer to enhance our technology.
There is a lot of talk regarding the withdrawal of 18 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on life and health insurance premiums. What is your take?
I think it's a wonderful initiative, if it can happen. If you want to achieve insurance for all by 2047, such initiatives are required.
Life insurance is critical to supporting families.
Also, life insurance is a big support for the government because, once life insurance companies become big, 65 per cent of premiums need to be invested in government securities.
This will result in a massive flow of investment to the government.
This, the government will use for infrastructure development and other needs.
So, the industry is a significant support for the country.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
