Tata AIA Life Insurance expects a 30-40 per cent growth in business over the next three years backed by a strong push to protection and pension plans, ramping up of distribution network and with renewed emphasis on branding.

According to Naveen Tahilyani, MD and Chief Executive Officer, Tata AIA Life Insurance, pension as a category is currently a small part of their total portfolio. But the company plans to launch new products starting this month to tap into the potential growth in the segment.

The company will also continue its focus on protection plans, which currently accounts for nearly 25 per cent of its product mix.

“We grew by nearly 30 per cent in H1 and in Q2 of this fiscal. Our growth has been close to 40 per cent. We have had strong numbers in November. We are hopeful of 30-40 per cent growth over the next three years,” Tahilyani told BusinessLine .

In FY21, the total premium income grew by 34 per cent to ₹11,105 crore, compared with ₹8,308 crore in FY-20. The total renewal premium income also witnessed a 37 per cent growth at ₹6,961 crore (₹5,066 crore). Its 13th month persistency remained at 88.28 per cent despite the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic while the claim settlement ratio stands at around 98.05 per cent. The company claims to have registered 35 per cent CAGR in the retail protection business over the last two years.

Ramping up distribution

The company is looking to ramp up its distribution network both by opening new branches and entering into partnerships with health tech and fintech companies for ramping up sales.

As on March 2021, the company had around 215 branches. It has already added 100 branches so far this year and plans to add another 100 over the next six months taking the total to around 415 by June 2022.

The company has a strong presence in Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Delhi NCR, Punjab and Haryana. It plans to ramp up presence in the southern markets by setting up new branches.

Distribution through agency network accounts for nearly 30 per cent of its total sales, while the remaining 70 per cent comes from non-agency network including bancassurance, broking partners and new age digital companies.

Branding and marketing

Tata AIA Life Insurance has on-boarded Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra as its brand ambassador in a multi-year deal with a focus on enhancing its brand image. The move would help promote health and wellness among policyholders and penetrate deeper into the Tier-II and Tier-III markets.

“So far, we have been reasonably quiet on branding front. Now, we think it is time to invest in branding. The Neeraj Chopra campaign would be initially rolled out on the digital platform,” Tahilyani said.

The company plans to lay emphasis on the omni-channel network with the digital channel serving more as a feeder to the physical network.

comment COMMENT NOW