ICICI Lombard Insurance: Reforming Indian insurance industry
Despite global economic depression, ICICI Bank has managed to survive every jolt with panache and is carrying on the business in its usual way. The reason has been rock-stable progressive graph that continues to point upwards even when the whole economy is still to get out of the clutches of meltdown completely.
Technically speaking, insurance never looked like going down the drain when recession was in scene. However the bank employed a customer-centric approach, simultaneously also employing a smart business strategy wherein they were able to capitalise the rising demand. One prime example that illustrates their shrewd business sense is the terror insurance product whose importance was realised only last year when Mumbai came under the most abhorred terrorist attack of all times. Damage caused to heritage and prominent metropolitan properties such as the Taj, Oberoi and Trident Hotels was beyond imagination. The cost of reconstruction and renovation was enormous, and meeting it was practically impossible thanks to recession and low tourists turnout. This automatically pressed the need for a customised terror insurance that intended to serve corporate entities. The need was immediately fulfilled by ICICI Lombard insurance department of the bank when they come up with similar product.
Honestly speaking, the terror insurance product opened potential avenues for abundant liquidity supply for bank which at that time was also struggling to keep up with the rumours that the bank is on the verge of declaring bankruptcy. The product not only guaranteed huge volumes of much-needed liquidity but also bailed them out of the trouble.
Kudos to their smart business tactics, now the launch of above-mentioned insurance product has certainly paid them rich dividends. With passage of time, they have improvised the product and has introduced the clause wherein damage caused by military operations in such events will also be covered.
Thanks to their visionary scheme of things, ICICI Lombard arm of the bank is also planning to exploit the wilted automobile market. Their recent offering in this department has been ICICI Lombard two-wheeler insurance policy that aims to cover maximum two-wheelers across the country.
Certainly, Nano’s arrival has been an out-of-blue jolt for two-wheeler manufacturers who are now hell-bent to produce something out-of-box to tap the targeted customer base. The launch of Tata four-wheeler prodigy has not only forced two-wheeler manufacturers to redo the price tag but has also limited the exposure of two-wheeler insurance policy providers to the industry.
With more small-segment cars soon to follow, two-wheeler manufacturers are suddenly looking out of ideas. Alternatively, this change has also affected the business prospects of the two-wheeler insurance providers. Since in situation like these one can hardly do anything, ICICI Lombard two-wheeler insurance wing has stuck to basics and has simply followed the basic ‘demand and supply rule’. The company has incorporated radical changes in its product range by reducing down the premium amount for the policy and also increasing number of allied benefits.
With two-wheeler industry under threat, ICICI Lombard two-wheeler insurance wing of the ICICI Bank certainly knows how to spur the demand levels and that too without being too much flashy.
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