Our digital strength helped us to serve customers during COVID-19: Satishwar Balakrishnan, CFO, Aegon Life
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Our digital strength helped us to serve customers during COVID-19: Satishwar Balakrishnan, CFO, Aegon Life

10 Jun, 2020 2 min. read
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Our digital strength helped us to serve customers during COVID-19: Satishwar Balakrishnan, CFO, Aegon Life

 

Private life insurer Aegon Life Insurance, the only insurer to sell 100 percent via digital mode, is seeing customers coming back online to buy term plans amidst the COVID-19 fear. Unlike other insurers who sell through agents or banks, Aegon Life sells directly to customers.

 

Satishwar Balakrishnan, CFO, and Principal Officer, Aegon Life, told Moneycontrol that COVID-19 has led to an increase in awareness among customers about term insurance plans.

 

"Since we are 100 percent digital, we did not face challenges related to agents not being able to visit homes. Customers are able to buy online, like before," he added.

 

Pure term or protection plans offer coverage for death. This means that if a policyholder dies during the tenure of the policy, the dependants get the sum assured as the death claim. India has seen a total of 7,745 deaths due to COVID-19 so far.

 

Aegon Life has also launched a 'life insurance with COVID-19 cover' for hospitalisation expenses up to Rs 1 lakh along with e-commerce platform Flipkart.

 

"This launch is aimed to provide Flipkart customers with a comprehensive insurance cover against COVID-19, that can be availed on their app instantly along with the base life insurance plan," said Balakrishnan.

 

Aegon Life phased out its agency channel in 2016 and now only sells products direct-to-customer without any intermediary.

 

Aegon Life saw a 22 percent YoY drop in its new premiums in FY20 at Rs 91.73 crore. Balakrishnan said that the company has seen an improvement in its operational metrics and are expecting a hockey stick-shaped revival from COVID-19.

 

"Our digital push will work to our advantage. Due to the lockdown, we have started medical underwriting over video for certain age groups. Investments into our digital model would continue and term plans would be a focus," he added.