Shashi Kant Dahuja, Executive Director & Chief Underwriting Officer, Shriram General Insurance:
Ravi Lalwani: The BFSI sector is rapidly shifting toward more personalized and digital-first financial services. What specific advancements or strategic changes does your organization plan to implement by 2025 to meet evolving market expectations? Are there particular markets where you aim to expand your presence or market share?
Shashi Kant Dahuja: At Shriram General Insurance (SGI) we firmly believe that the client always comes first. Our commitment to providing personalized, digital-first financial services is a key initiative designed to better understand our clients’ needs and deliver tailored solutions at a granular level.
To achieve excellence, businesses must embrace technological advancements, particularly in the fields of AI and data analytics. Fortunately, data analytics is deeply embedded in the DNA of SGI. We have been pioneers in making the motor insurance business profitable, and we believe the key to sustaining consistent, year-on-year profits lies in leveraging technology to analyze data closely. This data-driven approach is applied across all functions, including underwriting, claims, and other departments, to enhance our decision-making processes.
Advanced data analytics enables us to:
- Assess risks more effectively
- Offer customized solutions for different customer segments
- Use predictive AI for dynamic pricing
- Automate claims and reduce turnaround times across various segments
In line with this approach, we are moving away from traditional insurance products and are developing packaged solutions that offer clients more flexibility and customization, allowing them to choose coverage based on their specific needs. This shift reflects our dedication to putting the client at the centre of everything we do, ensuring that our services are aligned with their unique requirements.
As you set financial goals for 2025, could you share specific targets, such as revenue growth, customer acquisition metrics, or cost efficiency ratios? How do you plan to leverage key market segments – like real estate, SMEs, or agriculturists – to reach these milestones?
At SGI, we are poised for rapid growth, with projected revenue increases of over 25%. Our customer acquisition strategy is focused on expanding our reach, particularly in rural India. In the past, accessing rural segments was challenging, and operating physical branches was expense. However, with the advent of digitalization and the availability of the world’s lowest data prices, mobile phones and the internet have now reached even the remotest rural households.
Through the use of digital tools, we are able to raise awareness about the importance of insurance, educate rural audiences. Using AI and content creation, we tailor our offerings to meet their specific needs.
While we continue to focus on sectors such as real estate, agriculture, and MSMEs, health insurance will be a key priority. Beyond increasing health insurance penetration in urban areas, we are also focused on spreading awareness and providing access to health coverage in rural India. This approach allows us to address the unique needs of both urban and rural populations, ensuring broader coverage and greater financial security.
Given the rapid digital transformation in BFSI, can you specify which technology initiatives you plan to prioritize by 2025? What are your key milestones, and how do you plan to measure ROI in terms of operational efficiency or customer satisfaction?
We have implemented several technology-driven initiatives designed to benefit both our clients and the company, with a focus on enhancing underwriting, service delivery, and claims processing. With over 15 years of historical data at our disposal, our system is now equipped enough to offer customized pricing based on detailed risk profiles.
We have integrated numerous AI-driven triggers that help us detect high-risk proposals and identify potentially fraudulent claims. For instance, our system features over 100 automated checkpoints, which help evaluate and underwrite proposals based on the outcomes of these checks.
In addition, we have a user-friendly website and are developing a user-friendly chatbot to digitalize the entire customer journey, from policy purchase to claims settlement.
For us, the true return on investment (ROI) lies in achieving user satisfaction and simplifying their daily lives. We track this by continuously reducing turnaround times (TATs), gathering customer feedback, and refining our processes to ensure an exceptional experience for our clients.
With customers increasingly seeking personalized, on-demand financial services, what innovative solutions or digital experiences (e.g., self-service portals, virtual assistance, or app-based financial planning tools) are in the pipeline to enhance customer experience by 2025? What metrics will you use to assess the success of these initiatives?
There are significant developments across all lines of business. To provide customized services to users we are collaborating with various brands and apps in sectors such as travel, shopping, and NBFCs. This enables us to offer tailored coverage to users based on their specific needs, whenever required.
In addition to these partnerships, we are enhancing our MySGI app with self-help portals, financial tools, and more, to further empower our customers. We are focused on driving downloads and generating sales through these digital channels, using these metrics as an initial measure of success.
Furthermore, we are introducing virtual links to facilitate live vehicle surveys for accident claims, further streamlining our processes and offering greater convenience to our clients. These efforts are part of our broader strategy to provide seamless, customer-centric experiences across multiple touchpoints.
As cybersecurity threats escalate, how is your organization strengthening its defense mechanisms? Do you plan to invest in specific technologies (like zero-trust architecture or AI-based threat detection) or achieve industry certifications by 2025? Could you also share any KPIs related to data breach reduction or customer data protection?
Client data is most secure at SGI and we ensure that it remains that ways. We have state of the art data security mechanisms through which we utilizing latest technological advancements for ensuring 100% data security at SGI.
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