Shriram Life Insurance to ramp up rural penetration

CHENNAI: Shriram Life Insurance Company (SLIC) on Thursday said it is planning to maximise rural penetration on the heels of well-strategised digital processes and platforms.

Currently, SLIC employs digital channels through which agents and customers can access its life insurance products and services. In the first nine months of FY23 alone, it onboarded 80% new retail customers through Astra app, an agent-facing mobile app used to onboard clients.

Jointly promoted by South Africa’s Sanlam Group and Shriram Group, SLIC received IRDAI approval for EKYC through all modes, including facial recognition. The company, as of now, carries out 48% of all its payments digitally.

Shriram Smart Suraksha Card (Suraksha Apni Jeb Main) is the company’s latest attempt at combining its rural digital enablement programme with its flagship service excellence programme, We Care. The Smart Suraksha Card, which was unveiled on Thursday, gives instant access to customers’ digital policy bond. Through its QR codes, customers can opt to pay renewal premiums within a few taps.

Casparus J H Kromhout, MD-CEO, SLIC, said, “Our digital initiatives are focused on our purpose to extend life insurance to the segments of society that need it most – especially the rural and mass market segments. Technology and innovation enable us to reach and service our customers more efficiently. It provides more options for our customers and deepens our association and engagement with them.”

The company, which operates through 423 branches across 23 states, offers coverage at an average ticket size of approx Rs 19,000.

As of FYQ3 ’22, Shriram Life’s chatbot ShriA and its WhatsApp platform have seen close to 2.3 lakh users and 3.44 lakh customers. In the same period, SLIC reported 70,291 new policies, the highest compared to the last four years.