Aviva Life Insurance Strives To Make A Difference In Claims Settlement

Amit Malik, chief people, operations & customer services officer at Aviva Life Insurance Company, discusses the company efforts to make its customers feel unique:

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N. Mohan: For an average insurance buyer, how crucial is the claim settlement ratio? How are Indian insurance companies in general improving their respective ratios?

Amit Malik: Insurance is a significant investment an individual makes to secure the financial future of his or her loved ones. While a lot of customers still see insurance as a tax-saving instrument, the tribe of financially and digitally savvy customers is on the rise, who understand the importance of life insurance as a protection instrument. It is also quite often an emotional decision (many buyers typically look at insurance once they get married or become parents). Claims settlement ratio, therefore, is one of the most significant factors contributing to a customer’s choice of insurer (if one looks at the advertising trends, it can be observed that many insurers now focus on ‘ease and experience of claims settlement’). There are multiple other factors that go into the buying decision – the ‘brand’, accessibility and presence, customer service and competitive pricing, etc.

As customers become more financially aware, insurers are working hard on improving their claims settlement ratios. This ratio is a dependent on several factors - the years of operation of the company, product mix, persistency and claims volume among others. One of the most important factors is assessment of risk and quality at the time of issuance of the policy. Companies are now investing in enhanced due diligence to avoid instances of fraud. This becomes even more significant with recent regulatory changes that make it nearly impossible for insurers to deny claims beyond a specified time limit (also leading to better claims ratios). Another focus area is to make the selling process as transparent as possible to ensure that customers know the product and the contract.