The answer is blowing in the wind
The George brothers’ Avatar small wind turbine is generating electricity for troops in Leh
In a new normal insurance world ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic, PNB MetLife India Insurance ( PNB MetLife) is looking to ‘re-imagine’ the entire value chain around customer engagement, a top official said.
This approach will encapsulate both the digital technology that it would leverage and the processes around customer centricity, Ashish K Srivastava, Managing Director & CEO, PNB MetLife told BusinessLine.
“In these circumstances, we are now looking at what data analytics can we do and what underwriting rules can we rewrite to see that our straight-through processing can go up. We have even taken up tele-medical in a big way. We have also redefined our claims process,” he said.
Srivastava said that the life insurer was ‘re imagining’ the entire chain starting from onboarding, propositions, processes, technology and claims.“Our new approach is more than just looking at products and needs. It is a holistic approach. Till now we were thinking product and saying this is your product for your need. We are now thinking more behavioural and engaging with customers deeply. We are talking about solutions and product propositions and not one single product,” he said.
He said that Covid-19 has presented a new normal and there would be no return to the way the world operated before the pandemic. “We know for sure that we will not return to the previous normal. We have now taken a call that 15-20 per cent of my people who worked in my corporate office and were travelling 1-2 hours for commute to work, can very much work from home on a regular basis and be more efficient.
“I am in the camp which feels that work from home can make employees more productive. In fact, we were the first to introduce work from home much before this event. For one day in a week, our HR policy allowed work from home. Now we are expanding it. This will be the new normal for us,” Srivastava, said
Srivastava said that the life insurer saw the Covid-19 induced lockdown coming earlier than others and had tested the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in advance.
“As part of our BCP, we had looked at employee safety, customer focus, regulatory compliance and corporate social responsibility. This acting earlier has helped us and we have fared well on all the customer matrices in these 40 days of lockdown. We have also been able to sell 20,000 new policies in April largely through the digital channel as all our 106 branches and corporate office were closed. So our digital push helped in these trying times,” he said.
He said that the life insurer is expected to soon get ISO certification specific for its BCP programme. “In this scenario, we had lot of learnings. Earlier in our BCP, if Bombay was shut, we will operate from Delhi. If Delhi was shut, we operated from Bengaluru. But this is unprecedented. Entire country is shut down. Our early start on BCP testing helped. It now covers pandemic situations,” he said.
Post Covid-19 induced lockdown, the company has taken a relook at its digital capabilities end-to-end. “We have in the last 30 days reprioritised number of actions and identified the digital capabilities that we need. We are re-imagining the digital journey with our customers,” he said.
PNB MetLife is looking at how can it be more aligned to customer preferences, customer behaviour and customer needs, he added. The first thing that has been addressed is the digital journey.
On the product mix, Srivastava said that PNB MetLife will continue to be multi-product solutions company even as it would enhance focus on protection products. It would also be a multi-distribution channel focussed player.
The George brothers’ Avatar small wind turbine is generating electricity for troops in Leh
The Spanish flu (1918) devastated a port city like Mumbai. Could the lessons help as we brace for a second ...
Though the number is still woefully small, the good news is that more Indian companies are auditing their ...
Post-pandemic, airlines may have to combine punctuality with heightened passenger services, including safety, ...
Reading continuation chart parttern will tell you
The NSC, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi are good options
Banks will revert to old NPA reporting format, which may impact their financials
Await cues from global market for further direction
Murder is a theme that is unlikely to darken and yellow with time, the writer Truman Capote had once said.
The iconic punk rock band took a whole generation along as they toured the globe for 22 years
On April 10, 1970, Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving The Beatles for ‘personal and professional ...
A model rehabilitation project for 100 families of rescued bonded labourers kicks off in Tiruvannamalai, ...
Marketers are padded up, sponsorship deals have been struck, and campaigns are rolling out. Now let the games ...
And what marketers can possibly do to bring it back in our lives
The agency has changed form over the years but its lustre has not dimmed
Media Factory has purchased the majority stake held by Sam and Lara Balsara of Madison World in Madison Media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor