How Travel Medical Insurance Works for Singapore Travellers?

Singapore is one of Asia’s most exciting destinations, known for its modern skyline, cultural diversity and world-class experiences. But while the country offers plenty to explore, it also comes with some of the highest medical costs in the region.

Even a short hospital stay or emergency treatment can be financially overwhelming for foreign visitors. This is why purchasing travel insurance before heading to Singapore is not just recommended, it is essential. A robust policy ensures that you are financially protected against unexpected medical expenses while also covering other common travel disruptions.

What is Travel Medical Insurance?

Travel medical insurance is a specialised form of protection designed to handle health-related emergencies while you’re away from home. Unlike general travel policies that focus on trip delays or baggage issues, travel medical insurance emphasises emergency healthcare support.

It typically covers hospitalisation, doctor consultations, diagnostic tests, medicines and even emergency medical evacuation, if required. For international travellers, including those visiting Singapore, this type of insurance provides the security of knowing that unforeseen health issues will not turn into financial burdens.

Key Features of Travel Medical Insurance for Singapore Travellers

When travelling to Singapore, certain features of a travel medical policy become especially critical. Here’s what to look for.

High Medical Coverage Limits

Singapore is known for its world-class healthcare system, but the costs can be steep. A single day of hospitalisation or surgery can quickly run into thousands of dollars. Choosing a policy with high medical coverage limits ensures you are financially protected even in severe emergencies that require extended hospital stays or specialised care. When looking for travel insurance for Singapore ensure a high medical coverage.

Cashless Hospitalisation

The last thing a traveller wants during an emergency is to worry about arranging upfront payments for treatment. With cashless hospitalisation, you can access treatment at network hospitals without paying first. The insurer settles the bills directly with the hospital. This convenience is particularly useful in Singapore.

Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation

Sometimes the necessary treatment might not be available nearby, or your condition may require you to return home. Evacuation coverage ensures you are safely transported to the nearest appropriate facility, while repatriation benefit covers the cost of returning to your home country.

Why Is Travel Medical Insurance Important in Singapore

Singapore’s healthcare system is world-class but comes at a premium cost. Without insurance, even basic medical consultations can be costly. A valid travel insurance in Singapore helps in the following ways:

• Covering unforeseen medical expenses.
• Protecting against sudden illness or accidents.
• Providing compensation for travel delays or cancellations.
• Safeguarding against baggage loss or stolen passports.

Tips to Select the Right Travel Medical Insurance Plan

• Higher coverage limits are essential due to Singapore’s high medical costs.
• Ensure emergency coverage for existing health issues if applicable.
• Ensure access to reputed hospitals for faster treatment with a wide hospital network.
• Verify and assess if the claim process is simple. A simple and transparent process ensures smooth reimbursement.
• Go through customer reviews. Real experiences from other travellers help gauge insurer reliability.

TATA AIG – Reliable Travel Medical Insurance for Singapore

When it comes to safeguarding your journey, TATA AIG offers travel insurance plans that are designed to meet the unique needs of travellers visiting Singapore. With higher medical coverage limits, cashless treatment across a wide hospital network, and benefits like emergency evacuation and daily hospital allowances, TATA AIG ensures complete financial protection with plans tailored for travel insurance in Singapore.

Buying a policy is quick and convenient through their online platform, where you can secure coverage in just a few clicks and instantly access your documents. The claim process is straightforward, supported by 24/7 global emergency assistance that ensures you’re never alone during a crisis.

With strong customer trust and consistently positive reviews, TATA AIG has become one of India’s most reliable travel insurance providers. By choosing TATA AIG for your Singapore trip, you not only meet your protection needs but also gain the peace of mind to enjoy your travels without worry.

ICICI Lombard Becomes One of The 1st Indian Insurer with Fully Automated AWS Multi-Region DR, Enabled by TCS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, has successfully enabled ICICI Lombard to achieve fully automated AWS multi-region Disaster Recovery (DR) switchover. This establishes ICICI Lombard as one of the first insurance companies in India to achieve fully automated multi-region resilience on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud.

The innovative DR solution—designed to ensure business continuity in the face of unexpected disruptions—leverages automation-first, infrastructure-as-code approach. It leverages AWS-native technologies to enable intelligent, automated failover for key systems with minimal downtime or manual effort. With TCS as its growth partner, ICICI Lombard has been operating on AWS Cloud since 2021. To strengthen business continuity and achieve geographical redundancy, TCS helped the insurer establish a robust, scalable and fully automated DR setup.

Girish Nayak, Chief – Technology and Health (Underwriting & Claims), ICICI Lombard, said, “With resilience at the core of our digital operating model, and TCS as our strategic technology partner, we’ve been able to transform our disaster recovery capabilities into a truly agile, automated and cloud-native setup. This not only enhances our readiness for unexpected infrastructure disruptions but also reinforces our commitment to uninterrupted service to our customers. I would like to thank and congratulate TCS for enabling this automated disaster recovery solution by leveraging their cloud expertise in the insurance domain.”

TCS brought on board its deep domain expertise in the insurance industry and used its contextual knowledge of ICICI Lombard’s systems to deliver a best-in-class DR solution. The automation solution was built using highly performant data driven serverless architecture designed for large scale orchestration. This implementation not only improves operational resilience and reduces recovery time but also sets a new industry benchmark for automated disaster recovery in the BFSI sector.

Ujjwal Mathur, President & Country Head – India Business, TCS, said, “This engagement highlights our commitment to helping clients achieve next-generation resilience through cloud-native innovation. This intelligent, automation-led DR solution sets a new benchmark for BFSI organizations by enabling seamless, fast and scalable disaster recovery with zero touch. We are proud to partner with ICICI Lombard to reimagine infrastructure resilience in this digital era.”

TCS has been ICICI Lombard’s strategic IT partner since 2006 and has been managing their datacenter operations since 2013. TCS has been instrumental in seamlessly migrating all the ICICI Lombard applications to public cloud in 2021 and has since been supporting the ICICI Lombard cloud environment. It is now modernizing the insurer’s systems – Project Orion – with TCS BaNCS™ Insurance being deployed as part of the program. TCS is a leading player in the BFSI sector, partnering with top banks, leading insurance firms, prominent capital market entities, major investment banks, and wealth management companies globally.

TCS BaNCS™ for Insurance is a comprehensive offering suite, supporting a range of insurance products and functions, including customer management, product definition, plan management, policy administration, claims management, insurance accounting and reinsurance, along with a digital suite that can be tailored based on persona, among several options

RXIL and Tata AIG initiate The 1st Trade Credit Insurance Transaction in Sandbox Environment on the TReDS Platform

Receivables Exchange of India Ltd. (RXIL) recently initiated a Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) backed transaction with Tata AIG as the insurer and ICICI Bank, YES Bank as the financiers in Sandbox environment. This is the first time a TReDS platform has tested the efficacy of TCI backed transaction improving the ability of financiers in assigning credit limits to corporates. TCI, once implemented post regulatory approvals, will enable financiers to discount the invoices drawn on lower rated corporate buyers, by their MSME sellers and will improve the liquidity from lenders.

The adoption of Trade Credit Insurance on TReDS will pave the way for a completely digital bite-sized credit insurance model. Buying credit insurance on TReDS will be as simple as buying travel insurance while buying an air ticket on a travel portal, devoid of the lengthy paperwork generally associated with trade insurance.

Ketan Gaikwad, MD & CEO of Receivables Exchange of India Pvt. Ltd commented, “There has been a need for Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) on TReDS, we are glad that the regulators provided us with a roadmap in a time-bound manner. TCI will help financiers in mitigating the risk of non-payment and insolvency/defaults of the buyers. We collaborated with TATA AIG as the insurer, ICICI and YES Bank as financiers to execute the transaction. This is expected to increase the current throughput of the platform and put our country ahead in league with other developed markets the way this product has been designed"

Trade Credit Insurance is a structural reform that has been re-introduced in India after a gap of 10 years. Globally, factoring and insurance go hand in hand, however, in India, both are being seen with a renewed interest as the economy is gradually moving towards formalisation of small businesses. TCI on TReDS was one of the recommendations by U.K Sinha Committee report on MSME credit. The working group constituted by IRDAI reviewed the guidelines on TCI, which has paved the way for testing in Sandbox environment.

Ajay Gupta, Head Transaction Banking and SMEG, ICICI Bank said, “We are delighted to partner with RXIL for the Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) and successfully piloting the test transaction under IRDA’s regulatory sandbox proposal of TATA AIG. We are sure that TCI will significantly increase the ability of the buyers to get financiers to discount the invoices raised by their MSME suppliers, thereby benefitting a much larger universe of MSMEs. We believe TCI will gather further momentum when it gets approved as Credit Risk Mitigation Technique for lending."

Ajay Rajan, Global Head - Transaction Banking Group, YES BANK said, “With this successful pilot of the Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) backed structure in the Sandbox environment, YES BANK in partnership with RXIL has taken yet another significant step in its efforts towards digitizing and bringing efficacy in the financial supply chain arrangement between Corporate Buyers and their MSME sellers. TCI being a globally accepted Trade Financing & Credit Enhancement structure could potentially help in augmenting and expanding the scope of supply chain financing, thereby supporting the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative of the Government.

Risk management and mitigation is an important component of a well-oiled supply chain that drives the economic engine. A simplified trade credit insurance regime that includes MSMEs will encourage more liquidity from lenders and improve the industry’s resilience allowing them to expand faster.


About Receivables Exchange of India:

Receivables Exchange of India is an RBI accredited TReDS (Trade Receivables Discounting System) Exchange Platform that started as a joint venture between Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) with State Bank, ICICI and Yes Bank as other stakeholders.


RXIL empowers small businesses to realize their growth potential by accelerating their collections. With its innovative digital platform, MSMEs today can auction their trade receivables on a non-recourse basis at competitive rates, through online bidding by financiers, and gain access to capital in less than 48 hours. This helps MSMEs ease liquidity problems and puts a healthy cash flow back into their working cycles for smoother runs in their businesses. RXIL has over 4,800 MSMEs, 550 buyers and 39 financiers on the platform.

Should Health Insurance Be A Part of your Financial Planning

Financial planning is very important if you want to achieve all your life goals. To make sure that you and your loved ones can enjoy retirement peacefully, you must build and manage a sound financial plan for all your savings and investments. Financial planning is a lot more than random deposits in a savings account and investments from time to time. Such investments will result in an inefficient utilization of your resources. If you want to achieve your goals, then you must come up with a proper plan.

The first thing that a proper financial plan will provide you with is a roadmap for your future plans, financial requirements and financial goals. Some of the basic items that you will include in your financial goals are ownership of your own house, your children’s education, annual vacations, etc.

Another important aspect of a sound financial plan is a contingency or backup plan that will provide you with the necessary funds if you are under any critical circumstances. This will involve asset allocation, expense budgeting, goal evaluation, etc. Here are the basic steps involved in making financial plans.

1. Define and evaluate your financial goals: The objective of financial planning is to help you achieve all the financial goals that you have in mind. After you are done listing out your goals, you should categorize them under short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. Make sure that all your financial goals are SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound.
2. Start by outlining a budget: You need to draw up an itemized list of your future income and the foreseeable expenses that you’ll have to incur. By drawing up a budget, you will be able to keep all your expenses in check and manage your debts properly.
3. Keep money aside for emergencies: It is an undeniable fact that even the best planners cannot foresee every possible situation. To make sure that you are not caught unprepared, you have to come up with a proper backup plan. One of the most important elements of a backup plan is a reserve fund that is set aside for contingencies.
4. Proper asset allocation: You must remember that proper asset allocation is the backbone of a sound financial plan. By investing in the proper channels and creating a diversified portfolio, you will be able to achieve all your financial goals within the time horizon that you have in mind. You should structure your asset allocation in a proper way.
5. Review your financial plan regularly: Your financial plan should not be inflexible. Draw it up in such a way that you can make modifications according to the present situation. The best way to keep track of such situations is to review the progress and success of your plan regularly. Weeding out bad investments is a highly important task.

The importance of health insurance

Every single person in the world has to fall prey to unforeseen circumstances - sudden familial deaths, sudden business downturns, legal cases, health complications, etc. It is very important to be insured as you never know what circumstances are waiting for you around the corner. Since medical expenses are going to be very expensive, you need to invest in a comprehensive health insurance policy so that you can receive proper coverage in case you have to be hospitalized. That’s why health insurance is so important.

According to a survey conducted by Livemint in late 2018, around 56% of India’s population have not invested in any sort of health or medical insurance policies at all. The survey went on to discover that more than 75% of this population are not covered in a proper and comprehensive manner. Since such a large number of people decide to skimp on health insurance, they all have to incur out-of-pocket expenses when the worst does occur. It’s extremely important to remember that not being properly covered is just as bad, if not worse, than not having insurance at all.

Investments or insurance?

Although investments are such an important element of financial plans, insurance is just as important. If you want to lead a full and financially secure life where you and your loved ones are well-cared for, then you need to get started on coming up with a sound financial plan. The best way to do this is to allocate a sizable chunk of your assets to investments and an equally sizable chunk to sound insurance policies. The most important insurance policy of all is health insurance, which will protect you and your family in the event of hospitalization or medical emergencies.

If you want to make sure that you and your loved ones will be cared for in the event of a medical emergency, then you will need to invest in a proper health insurance policy. Especially in the situation of the coronavirus pandemic, you should look into coronavirus protection plans like the Corona Kavach policy.

If you purchase a proper health insurance coverage plan for your family, here are some of the basic and standard cost coverage that you should expect from your healthcare provider.

1. Hospitalization Charges before-and-after: Pre and post-hospitalization period of your treatment is highly important. You have to choose a plan that successfully offers it.
2. Cash Benefit: Your insurance should provide you with a lump sum of money every day as compensation for your loss of income.
3. In-Patient Expenses: Your health insurance policy will make sure you are covered during your hospital stay, including coverage for ICU charges and PPE kits.

So now you know why financial planning is so important - and also the main reasons why you should devote a lot of attention and resources to proper health insurance for yourself and your family.

Digit Insurance launches an Online Do-it-yourself Insurance Advisory Tool for SMEs & Startups on World Entrepreneurs' Day

• Entrepreneur can understand how to insure their businesses from different risks
• Aimed at founders or business owners no matter whatever size it is, across various industries like manufacturing, construction, import/export to name a few
• Digit Insurance has been recently named “Insurance Start-up of the Year-India” by Insurance Asia Awards

Digit Insurance, on a mission to make insurance simple in India, has launched an online Do-it-yourself advisory tool, to help SMEs and start-ups calculate the coverage required for their businesses, called SME Buddy. This is part of Digit’s initiative to make insurance simpler and relevant to the smaller businesses that are more susceptible to risks, especially with the ongoing pandemic.

SME owners and start-up founders can enter their details, like the industry they are in, the kind of assets they hold and the resources they have in the tool. Based on this, the tool provides suggestions on the kind of insurance coverage that they should avail. SMEs are the backbone of the country. They are key contributors of product and service innovations and thus exposed to higher risks of different kinds. Choosing the right insurance solution can help to protect them from unprecedented losses.

It will give small businesses an idea on what type of insurance covers will be helpful for them and will protect them from eventualities.

Vivek Chaturvedi, Chief Marketing Officer, Digit Insurance, said, “At Digit, we are always looking at ways of taking our mission of making insurance simple one notch higher. This time we thought of making insurance relevant and simple for SMEs & Start-ups. They have been a huge pillar of support for the nation through these tough times and in doing so they are exposed to a variety of losses. Also, commercial insurance or SME insurance still has a layer of complexity and is difficult to understand.  Hence, as an insurer we wanted to simplify the initial understanding for such insurances and wanted to spread awareness on the different kinds of insurance products that businesses would require based on different factors. This tool is our way of helping SMEs protect themselves in such difficult times.”

The company’s biggest differentiator is its mission of making insurance simple, which has become the need of the hour for Indians and has the potential to make insurance relevant. Digit Insurance has been focusing its efforts in bringing simpler insurance to both individuals and organizations. The tool can be viewed here https://www.godigit.com/calculators/sme-buddy-business-insurance-calculator/

Drone Startup Tropogo receives First State Run PSU National Insurance to Support Indian Drone Ecosystem

TropoGo, witnessed issuance of India’s First Beyond Visual Line of
Sight (BVLOS) Drone Insurance to Drone Start-up Asteria Aerospace,
underwritten by National Insurance

First State Run PSU to Support Indian Drone Ecosystem

To safeguard the risk of any loss or damage to third-party due to any accident during the test flights National Insurance, a state-owned General insurance company has issued India’s First BVLOS Drone Insurance to Asteria Aerospace, a drone manufacturer and operator, through Itus Insurance Brokers utilizing TropoGo Platform.

The BVLOS insurance coverage is exclusively designed for Asteria’s DGCA approved consortium to conduct 100 hours of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) test flights in a pre-defined airspace approved by DGCA. It is also the first time that any PSU insurance company has collaborated with drone start-up and a FinTech start-up to come up with innovative and fit-for-purpose insurance.

BVLOS Drone Operations are the next frontier in drone-technology with a promise to deliver multiple mass benefit use cases like Agriculture, Disaster Management, Healthcare, Infrastructure monitoring, and many more.
DGCA has approved 20 drone consortia including Asteria Aerospace for conducting BVLOS Drone trials in a sandboxed environment. Asteria plans to conduct BVLOS test flights in an airspace located about 2 hours north of Bengaluru and experiment use cases such as aerial survey of pipelines, railways, and roadways, among other things. Observations & outcomes of these experimental flights will be submitted to DGCA to draft policies and regulations for safe and routine BVLOS drone operations.

According to Sandipan Sen, Founder of TropoGo, “It’s a matter of pride for us to get into a co-innovation journey with Asteria Aerospace, Itus Insurance Brokers and National Insurance, a brand trusted since 1906.
With this collaboration, TropoGo is well-positioned to support every insurance need of India’s thriving drone ecosystem, be it Line of Sight Operations or Beyond Visual Line of Sight experiments. We will continue to collaborate and co-innovate to bring Smart, Affordable & Fit for Purpose Financial products for the Indian Drone community"

Neel Mehta, co-founder of Asteria Aerospace, said, “Asteria is proud to lead the way for BVLOS drone operations in India, and we are glad to have the support of TropoGo and National Insurance in this journey. This is an exciting time for the drone industry in India and BVLOS flight operations will unlock many critical as well as emerging use cases for drones.”

Shubhankar Pain, Chief Regional Manager of National Insurance said “ We have been seeing increasing Drone adoption in the last few months, be it COVID Control, AMPHAN Disaster Management or Locusts Control. We can also see “Beyond Visual Line of Sight” operations will further accelerate the innovation especially for Medicine delivery and in Agriculture in the coming years. When we have been approached with the Insurance request for the Asteria Aerospace consortium, DunzoAir Consortium we were very happy with their depth of knowledge on drone operations risks and decided to extend our support to the dynamic Indian Drone Community. We will keep on monitoring the space and will continue to extend our support to the vibrant start-up fraternity for Insurtech Innovations”.

About TropoGo

TropoGo is a Deep-Tech start-up, working on Real-time Risk Management platform for smart and connected products of the future. Starting with Drones, TropoGo will be the first integrated, single sign-in platform that will cater to every need of the Indian Smart Tech ecosystem. For more information on TropoGo and please log on to: www.TropoGo.com

TropoGo is the Platform for Drone Operations and a Carrier of the outsourced functions of Itus Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. TropoGo Technologies Private Limited (CIN No. U72900KA2019FTC130185) is an Appointed Representative to carryout certain outsourced functions of Itus Insurance Brokers Private Limited, Hyderabad, India (www.itus.co.in) authorized and regulated by the IRDAI (License No. 464, License validity date: 23-10-2019 to 22-10-2022) who have arranged for the insurance using the platform of TropoGo and underwritten by National Insurance.

About Asteria Aerospace

Asteria Aerospace develops drone based solutions to provide actionable intelligence from aerial data for surveillance & security, industrial inspections and agricultural applications.. Asteria’s capabilities and intellectual property span across the entire drone technology stack of hardware, software and analytics.

Asteria Aerospace is headquartered in Bangalore, with satellite offices in Delhi and Hyderabad. For more information, visit: www.asteria.co.in

About National Insurance

National Insurance Company Limited is India’s Oldest General Insurance Company. It was incorporated in Kolkata, West Bengal on December 5, 1906 to fulfil the nationalist aspiration for Swaraj. 66 years later, after passing of General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act in 1972, it was merged along with 21 foreign and 11 Indian companies to form National insurance Company Limited, one of the four subsidiaries of the General Insurance Corporation of India, fully owned by Govt. of India. Under the provisions of this Act, the shares of existing Indian general insurance companies and undertaking of other insurers were transferred to GIC for the regulation and control of insurance business.

National Insurance has offices all over India and a foreign office in Nepal.
National Insurance Company Ltd offers a wide range of insurance services to its customers with around 300 products. The Company has strong presence with around 1730 offices and more than 13000 skilled employees and over 50000 Agents spread all over the country.

Digit Insurance Named ‘Insurance Start-up of the Year – India’ in Insurance Asia Awards 2020

Digit Insurance, on a mission to make insurance simple, has received the award, ‘Insurance Start-up of the Year – India’ at the fifth edition of the prestigious Insurance Asia Awards 2020. The company has received this award in recognition of its efforts in offering simplified insurance solutions and seamless customer experience enabled by technology. 

The awards were held virtually for the first time this year due to the pandemic and recognitions were handed via a visual presentation to the winners. Seventy-five insurance companies from 22 countries in the Asia Pacific region were awarded in this year’s programme.

Mr Kamesh Goyal, Founder and Chairman, Digit Insurance, said, “We are honoured to have received the ‘Insurance Start-up of the Year – India’ award in the Insurance Asia Awards 2020.  We have a great team of enthusiastic individuals & partners whose persistent efforts have brought us this accolade.”

This year’s awards from the Insurance Asia Awards 2020 aims to recognise insurance firms that can navigate around various market challenges while keeping clients satisfied and maintaining revenue.

In just three years of operations, Digit Insurance has gained 1.54 per cent market share and has also insured more than 90 lakh customers (as on 30th June 2020). Digit Insurance also is the highest rated insurance company on Facebook with a 4.9 rating out of 5 (as on 9^th June 2020).

About Digit:

Go Digit General Insurance Limited is a new-age general insurance company started by Kamesh Goyal and backed by the Fairfax Group, one of the largest financial services groups in the world.

The company has raised three rounds of funding amounting to $140 million from Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings and $84 million from three growth equity investors— A91 Partners, Faering Capital and TVS Capital. This combined investment would bring Digit’s total funding to $224 million, one of the largest funding rounds in the Indian General Insurance space. Digit has an NPS score of 87 per cent.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Digit has partnered with some of the leading companies like Cleartrip, Sterling Holidays, SOTC and Policy Bazaar. Digit Insurance has recently won ‘General Insurance Company of the Year 2019’ award at Asia Insurance Review Awards, Singapore.

During the ongoing pandemic, Digit Insurance has been able to service a number of commercial and industrial establishments and secure their employees and customers through relevant health insurance solutions. It has also featured in the Top 25 Indian Startups Lists by Linkedin in 2018 and 2019 and was in CB Insights’ top 250 fastest growing fintech companies globally list in 2018. Digit is the highest rated general insurance company on Facebook with 4.9 rating from around 7000 followers. 

USGIC Launches India’s 1st AI-powered Conversational Agent for Motor Insurance

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused ambiguity and disruption in customer services across the world and has changed the life of people in unthinkable ways. In these unforeseen circumstances, Universal Sompo General Insurance, as a customer-first organisation has launched Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered virtual agents for its motor claims services.

Universal Sompo's AI-powered virtual agents will use conversational AI to automate the routine conversations traditionally handled by live agents. The First Notice of Loss (FNOL), which is the first step in claims processing, is usually a call center-based service which requires extensive questions and data gathering. Customers who have had a motor accident and are wanting to register a quick claim are usually under stress and look for convenient ways to report the claim without having to wait in call queues. 

Offloading routine calls from customer service representatives to AI-powered virtual agents will create a far superior customer experience. The entire turnaround time (TAT) in the claim registration process is impacted significantly thereby reducing the wait time for filing a claim, checks on claims status, review of policy information, and much more - all the things live agents would typically manage. With this first-of-its-kind solution in the insurance sector in India, this entire process at Universal Sompo will shrink to a few minutes.

"Claims notification is a critical customer touchpoint in insurance. In Post-Covid era our biggest challenge is how we should Never Miss a Customer Call. AI automation will help streamline experience for both our customers and backend operations and we are placing big bets on it,” said Sharad Mathur, Managing Director & CEO, Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd.

As a customer-first and responsible organization, Universal Sompo has been consistently scaling up its technology and infrastructure to align itself not only with regulatory changes but also to provide best services to its customers. Hence, to remain future ready and always ahead of the curve, it has recently deployed various initiatives like Mobile Application (M-POS) for POS channel, Payment Integration with digital wallets, System for Crop Insurance and Customer self-service portal etc.

Soon, Universal Sompo will be co-creating many AI and digital solutions which will help offset productivity losses and successfully face challenges of new operating environments. It is keen on recognizing tech trends, evaluate business opportunities, and actively incorporate relevant processes and programs into the business model, for outpacing and outperforming market competition. At the same time, the company will try to deliver simpler, innovative and customer need-based products.

About Universal Sompo General Insurance

Universal Sompo is the first Public - Private Partnership in Indian General Insurance Industry. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and is a joint venture between Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank Ltd, Dabur Investment Corp and a leading general insurer from Japan, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. Universal Sompo is operating across India through its 86 Branches and 17 Zonal Offices. It offers wide-range of products for Retail, Rural, SME & Corporate customer segments. It's innovating in the health insurance space and offers both standalone policies and co-branded products in conjunction with its bank partners. It continues to invest in technology ensuring quick and smooth services to customers. It serves customers through a vast distribution network of banks, branches, agents, brokers, auto dealers, POSPs, CSCs and so on. The company has also designed specific products for rural and semi urban markets.

PayNearby's Insurance arm partners with IndiaFirst Life to Offer Insurance Khata Plan to Low-Income Brackets

IndiaFirst Life Insurance partners with country’s largest POS certified agent network “InsureNearby” to disseminate Insurance Khata Plan to the masses

InsureNearby, the insurance arm of PayNearby, India’s largest hyperlocal fintech network, partners with IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited (IndiaFirst Life), promoted by Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India, to endorse a unique insurance product called “Insurance Khata Plan”. Specifically designed to serve the low-income bracket, the product not only secures the insured and their family's needs in case of an untimely demise, but also provides a flexible deposit plan that allows them to save and fulfil their dreams. The plan allows complete flexibility to the buyers in choosing the frequency and tenure besides allowing them to pay the premiums as per their convenience. It also functions as an excellent saving product as the beneficiary gets the entire money back at the maturity of the policy. 

With more than 82% of India's workforce engaged in the unorganised sector, over 39 crore workers and their families live under the constant threat of financial setbacks. Lack of a constant income source plays a huge hindrance in paying fixed annual or monthly premiums regularly. This results in an insufficient or non-existent insurance coverage, which often prods them into an inevitable poverty cycle. This set of economically weaker population has unique insurance needs and hence require a customised product that offers flexibility, ease of access and a frequency that adapts to their erratic earnings while providing the security of an insurance cover.

IndiaFirst Life’s Insurance Khata Plan is a non-linked, non-participating, term assurance with return of premium plan. The product has been designed to offer financial protection in the form of a life cover to the family besides offering the provision of returning more than the premium paid in total when unclaimed at the end of the policy term. 

Comprising of 72% of total population of the country, rural India is largely uninsured and unprotected. Through InsureNearby’s 45,000 POS agents, the product will now be made easily available to the country’s masses. InsureNearby will embark on a journey to train their vast network of 8.5+ lakh retail agents, registered under its sister organization PayNearby, to upscale them as credible POS agents. The geographical reach of these last mile retail outlets will enable the company to provide insurance to marginalized customers in the most far flung towns and villages across the country. The unique offering thus creates a force multiplier, where people who have never sold insurance are trained to sell to people who have never before bought the product. The objective is to insure India and make protection available for all.

Commenting on the association, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby said, “With around 3% insurance penetration, Indians have largely been left unprotected to life’s vagaries. Our motto has always been to make safe and secure financial solutions available to our masses and help them move ahead in life. In accordance with our motto, Zidd Surakshit Aage Badhne Ki, this partnership with IndiaFirst allows us to provide a unique life insurance policy to our customers, that not only protects their families in case of a demise, but also provides them the flexibility to gradually plan and build their savings to meet their evolving life goals. We are excited about this partnership and am confident that our distribution capability along with their product innovation will create a force multiplier that will help bridge the huge gap in protection coverage for our citizens. A unique life insurance policy that not only protects their families in case of demise, but also provides a flexible deposit platform for fulfilling their dreams.”

Commenting on the strategic alliance, Rushabh Gandhi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co Ltd said, “Our alliance, with a like-minded and dynamic institution as, InsureNearby is a strategic leap in line with IndiaFirst Life’s vision to provide life insurance cover at affordable rates to last mile customers in India. Technology and micro products have enabled IndiaFirst Life to reach out to the unorganized, underserved and the under penetrated regions in the country. We have 45,000 qualified retail agents of PayNearby who are certified as POS agents with InsureNearby to sell IndiaFirst Life’s Insurance Khata Plan. For us, this is just the beginning. Together, we are keen to offer more such embedded solutions, which will inculcate the ‘long-term savings and insurance’ culture in India.”

Commenting on this occasion, Murali Iyer, CEO and Principal Officer, InsureNearby remarked, “Our aim has always been to strive for complete inclusivity. We want to gather actionable insights to address the evolving needs of the various types of insurance buyers, especially those in the low income segment, thus offering them the opportunity to lead their lives with as little impact as possible in case of a sudden demise. With Insurance Khata, we aim to bridge the void of accessible life insurance at affordable rates. The product also addresses the savings needs of our target audience, who are looking for safe, flexible deposit plans.”

Nearby Insurance Broking Services Pvt. Ltd., with an aim and aspiration to “Insure India,” serve the unserved bringing in an era of true financial inclusion through its brand, “InsureNearby”. The company provides simple insurance products pre-underwritten and delivered instantly through mobile app and web services. The cutting edge proprietary technology provides Assisted Insurance Sales and service to crores of Indians in a fast and reliable manner. A subsidiary of Nearby Technologies, a fintech company offering assisted financial/non-financial services to the underbanked and unbanked segment, Nearby Insurance Broking Services seeks to make insurance products accessible at the last mile. 

Previously known as We Care Insurance Broking, Murali Iyer is the CEO and Principal Officer of Nearby Insurance Broking Services, since July 2019. Having almost 30 years of insurance sales experience, Murali is a revered figure in the country’s insurance segment, having been one of the core group members of the team that set up Birla Sun Life Insurance.

HDFC ERGO to Launch On-demand 'Pay As You Fly' Insurance for Drones with TropoGo

HDFC ERGO, the country's third-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, and TropoGo, a Deep Tech start-up, have partnered to offer commercial drone owners and operators Third Party Liability claims cover for property damage and bodily injuries. This policy is the first-of-its-kind in the non-life insurance segment in India which will be offered on-demand to customers on 'Pay as you Fly' concept.



In the current pandemic, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones are being considered and also actively used actively by State and Central Government in the fight against COVID-19. While the world has come to a grinding halt, drones are proving to be efficient and beneficial for public surveillance, crowd monitoring and; in certain areas; even for delivery of essentials like medicines. Moreover, the use of drones may also become central to various functions of different businesses in future, where humans may be unable to perform the tasks.

Despite the advantages drones offer to its commercial users, the safety towards third-party assets remains unanswered. Addressing this need, HDFC ERGO's new policy provides commercial drone owners/operators Third Party Liability claims cover which may be incurred while conducting activities like survey, mapping, monitoring, disaster relief initiatives, civil administration services, use during festivals & events, property management and travel & tourism purposes among others. This cover will be offered to registered drone owners and operators holding a commercial drone pilot's certificate or a license issued by certified training schools in India.

Commenting on the launch of the new product, Mr. Ritesh Kumar, MD & CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd., "The risk landscape continues to evolve. With the advancement in technology, new risks are emerging that open up new horizons for us to offer innovative products. Today, drones are becoming more and more popular in events and other outdoor commercial activities, which require skilled professionals to operate them. But, mistakes in operating and equipment failure may cause damage to third parties. Considering this we are launching this cover under our Aviation Insurance, which is a first in the industry, to safeguard drone owners and pilots from any third-party liability while flying a drone commercially."

Mr. Sandipan Sen, Founder & Product owner, TropoGo said, "Third-Party Liability insurance is mandatory for drone operations, and there has been a demand from the Indian Drone Community for Insurance as well. Unfortunately, until now, no insurer offers such a cover and the flexibility to buy the policy through a digital platform. We identified this as the problem statement and partnered with HDFC ERGO General Insurance to offer India's first on-demand 'Pay As You Fly' Third-Party Liability cover for drone owners and operators that is Smart, Affordable & Fit-for-Purpose."

TropoGo mobile app will be available for both Android and iOS users, which will allow registered members to choose a policy cover based on the duration of time the drone is being used. Members may opt for 4 hours, one-day, or a one-month cover to insure themselves against third-party liabilities. For more information about the policy cover, drone users can log on to www.tropogo.com or download the TropoGo app on their Android or iOS based mobile phones, or simply connect with a HDFC ERGO General or TropoGo representative.

About HDFC ERGO

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd. is a 51:49 joint venture between the Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC); India's premier Housing Finance Institution and ERGO International AG; the primary insurance entity of the Munich Re Group of Germany. HDFC ERGO, the third largest General Insurance provider in the private sector, offers the complete range of general insurance products including Motor, Health, Home, Agriculture, Travel, Credit, Cyber and Personal Accident in the retail space and Property, Marine, Engineering, Marine Cargo, Group Health and Liability Insurance in the corporate space.

Over the last few years, HDFC ERGO has constantly endeavoured to not just align itself to the evolving market needs, but instead be a pioneer in terms of its offerings. Having its ears to the ground has helped the Company create a stream of highly targeted new products and AI-based tools and technology. Be it unique insurance products, integrated customer service models, top-in-class claim process or a host of technologically innovative solutions.

With a wide distribution network and a 24x7 support team, the Company has been offering seamless customer service and innovative products to its customers.

For more information on HDFC ERGO and the products and services offered by the Company, please log on to: www.hdfcergo.com

About TropoGo

TropoGo is a Deep-Tech start-up, working on Real-time Risk Management platform for Smart and connected products of the future. Starting with Drones, TropoGo will be the first integrated, single sign-in platform that will cater to every need of the Indian Smart Tech ecosystem.

For more information on TropoGo and please log on to: www.TropoGo.com.

PhonePe launches Domestic Trip Insurance with ICICI Lombard as India starts opening-up

 

• Comprehensive insurance policy covers expenses or losses from all kinds of travel-related incidents

• Sum insured up to ₹ 5 lakhs at just ₹ 499 annually

 

With the lockdown ending and domestic travel gradually starting across   the country, PhonePe, India’s leading digital payments platform, today announced the launch of a comprehensive, industry-first domestic multi-trip insurance cover in a strategic partnership with ICICI Lombard, India’s largest non-life insurance company. This product exclusively available for PhonePe users, provides one of the most affordable annual insurance covers for unlimited trips. This unique solution takes a leap forward from traditional travel insurance removing the need to insure every trip separately and will benefit both business and leisure travellers.

The new launch enables a stress-free travel experience for customers by covering risks associated with all modes of travel within the country (road, rail and air within the country) right from the time a customer leaves home till the time he/she returns. 

For domestic travellers who may be worried about stepping out during the COVID-19 pandemic, this unique, all-in-one insurance product offers a comprehensive bouquet of benefits that cover losses arising from trip cancellations, home burglary while travelling, missed connecting flights, lost baggage and more. The product also caters to the needs of customers who prefer buying domestic travel insurance every time they book a ticket or a cab. With 365-days protection at just INR 499, this is the most cost-effective and hassle-free cover that cuts across all modes of transport. 

For air travellers specifically, there is a unique feature of trip cancellation due to hospitalisation and up to INR 1,000 payout for trip cancellation due to government lockdown. In addition to this, it also provides cover against death or hospitalization due to an accident during the journey with a sum assured of INR 5 lakhs. PhonePe now offers customers a complete travel insurance product portfolio with both international and domestic travel insurance catering to the needs of all kinds of travellers. 

Speaking on the launch, Gunjan Ghai, VP & Head of Insurance, PhonePe said, “This product reflects PhonePe’s philosophy of finding time and context-relevant products for its customers.  We are excited to launch this unique and industry-first insurance cover for domestic travellers. The product offers cover for all modes of transport for unlimited trips in a year while also providing very relevant features in the current unlocking 1.0 scenario. We believe this solution will provide policyholders peace of mind so that they can focus on enjoying their travel without any worry. We remain deeply committed to  making insurance affordable, simple and accessible for over 200 Mn PhonePe users.”

On the launch, Sanjeev Mantri, Executive Director, ICICI Lombard General Insurance said, “We are delighted to associate with PhonePe for this ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance offering. At ICICI Lombard, our focus is to support our customers in their hour of need, thereby demonstrating our brand ethos of Nibhaye Vaade. As we get back to normal life amid social distancing, this product will surely benefit a large number of travelers, safeguarding them from any unforeseen circumstances. Further, the multi-trip, multi-mode makes this solution a convenient, cost-effective and extremely appealing proposition for the frequent traveler."

PhonePe users can purchase the domestic multi-trip insurance policy under the “My Money” section on the PhonePe app. The policy purchase process takes less than 2 minutes and customers will be issued their policy documents instantly on the PhonePe app.

About PhonePe:

PhonePe is India’s leading digital payments platform with over 200 million registered users. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017 with the launch of digital gold providing users with a safe and convenient option to buy 24-karat gold securely on its platform.

PhonePe has since launched Mutual funds and Insurance financial products like tax-saving funds, liquid funds, international travel insurance and Corona Care, a dedicated insurance product for the COVID-19 pandemic. PhonePe also launched its Switch platform in 2018, and today its customers can place orders on over 180 apps including Ola, Myntra, IRCTC, Goibibo, redBus, Oyo etc. directly from within the PhonePe mobile app. PhonePe is accepted at over 10 million merchant outlets across 400 cities nationally. 

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd

We are the largest private-sector non-life insurer in India based on gross direct premium income in fiscal 2020 (Source: IRDAI). We offer our customers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering and liability insurance, through multiple distribution channels. 

Life Insurance In The Age Of Epidemics

Life insurance is an essential protection coverage that every individual must buy. It not only provides protection coverage for you but for your loved ones as well. Have you ever thought of the fact that what will your loved ones do in the event of your untimely demise? Will they be able to cope with the financial pressure looming over them? What about their education? So, it is critically important to plan ahead and buy the best investment plan, especially during this global pandemic. If you are applying for life insurance that covers epidemics like coronavirus, among other diseases, then you can rest assured that your family will be paid the benefit in case you die due to a pandemic illness. 

With that said, in this post, we will discuss the importance of having life insurance in the age of epidemics. Let’s get started. 

#1 Meet your family’s needs 

First things first, you would not do anything without thinking about your family. While epidemics are considered once in a century kind of events, you would not want to be unprepared when the next epidemic strikes. You would want your family to stay protected financially, no matter what. So, investing in life insurance that covers for pandemic as well, will ensure that your family’s financial needs are met even if you are not there. If you have children who are totally dependent on you, it can be difficult for them to take care of themselves in the event of your demise. Investing in the best investment plan can provide your family with death benefits. 

#2 Protect your business 

We already know how much the novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the global economy. Businesses have shut down, people are unemployed, and there is no source of income. Life insurance policy not only protects your family but also takes care of things you own like your business. Choosing the right life insurance that covers your business is important. Seeing the epidemic, there have been some new life insurance policies devised that look at the business aspect as well. You would want to protect your business when you are not there.   

#3 Settle the debts 

You might have availed a loan for your children’s higher education, to purchase a home or a car. Now, in the event of your demise, the burden of the loan will directly fall into the hands of your family members. Now, even if someone from your family is employed, it will not be easy for them to manage the debt. Having life insurance will make sure that your family can pay off the debt without any hassle and live a financially independent life. 

Applying for life insurance during the epidemic 

While nobody knows the long-term ramifications of a pandemic, its spread across the globe can have many on high alert. There are certain factors to bear in mind when applying for life insurance in the age of epidemics. Your policy provider will help you go through the latest details of the policy designed, keeping in mind the epidemic. 

HDFC Life Launches Voice Assistant on Alexa for On-The-Go Policy Servicing

• HDFC Life’s Alexa bot can respond to 200+ unique policy-related queries


• With Alexa bot, HDFC Life reinforces presence in all major social media channels including WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook

HDFC Life, one of India’s leading private life insurance companies, has been at the forefront when it comes to technology and technology-based offerings. The latest addition to the long line of digital assistants by HDFC Life has been announced today.

Elsa, HDFC Life’s Alexa-based smart service voice assistant, is now available for policyholders. Through this offering, HDFC Life aims to continue supporting policyholders during the lockdown. The life insurer’s digital platform and tech-based solutions are enabling policyholders to service their policies without having to step out of their homes.

Elsa, the Alexa bot, is powered by natural language processing (NLP) software and offers intelligent services like handling of dynamic requests and offering insights into policies. In its first rollout, Elsa can successfully answer than 200+ queries.

To initiate and configure Elsa on Alexa devices, customers need to download the Alexa app and link their HDFC Life account through a secure authentication process. Once the account is linked, the customer can ask their queries to Alexa to get various policy related information including requesting services such as fund statement, premium receipt or policy soft copy.

For example, the customer can ask “Alexa, when is my next premium due?” On receiving the request, HDFC Life will send the requested information securely via an SMS to the policyholder’s registered mobile number.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Parvez Mulla, Chief Operating Officer, HDFC Life, said: “Every year, HDFC Life records more than 40 lac customer queries and service requests and processes them digitally. A growing number of Indian customers are moving towards smart digital solutions for quicker and more simplified services.

Through Elsa, as well as other AI service bots, we aim to offer intelligent and personalised query processing for our policyholders. We are making resilient AI offerings which will add value to customer experience.”

HDFC Life’s technology journey started a few years ago when HDFC Life’s leaders saw promise in emerging technologies and creating digital solutions across its value chain. As a leader in the life insurance sector, HDFC Life has bolstered a strong digital presence in major social media and communication channels through voice and chat assistants.

In earlier releases, HDFC Life has announced Elle, a website chatbot; NEO, a Twitter bot; and a 24-hour service bot for WhatsApp, named Etty. The company has successfully launched 210 bots that offer a seamless experience to employees as well as customers.

About HDFC Life:

HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited (formerly HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited) ('HDFC Life' / ‘Company’) is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd., India’s leading housing finance institution and Standard Life Aberdeen, a global investment company.

Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a leading long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, Annuity and Health. As on March 31, 2020, the Company had 37 individual and 11 group products in its portfolio, along with 6 optional rider benefits, catering to a diverse range of customer needs.

HDFC Life continues to benefit from its increased presence across the country having a wide reach with 421 branches and additional distribution touch-points through several new tie-ups and partnerships. The count of our partnerships is in excess of 270, comprising traditional partners such as NBFCs, MFIs and SFBs, and includes more than 40 new-ecosystem partners. The Company has a strong base of financial consultants.

Edelweiss-gallagher Facilitates Pandemic Group Insurance Cover For India’s Informal Sector Workers

Edelweiss-Gallagher, a composite insurance broker in India, has facilitated a Pandemic Group Insurance product for informal sector and frontline workers across industries in India. This initiative was launched recently with a comprehensive COVID-19 indemnity cover solution and is backed by India’s top insurers. 

This Group level insurance solution will provide an insurance cover to food delivery agents, informal sector workers employed by companies in factories as well as frontline workers of hospitals, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, who now find themselves especially vulnerable. 

Edelweiss Gallagher has collaborated with four leading general insurance companies and assisted over 50 corporates to protect their workforce and restart their operations, by incentivizing workers to return from their villages and rejoin work. Overall, Edelweiss-Gallagher Insurance Brokers (EGIB) has spread awareness about this product among over 1.5 lakh SMEs & MSMEs across India.  

Vinay Sohani, CEO at Edelweiss-Gallagher Insurance Brokers, explained: “During these uncertain times, insurers have a critical role in ensuring that business owners are able to safeguard the wellbeing of their people and their families. This collaboration with corporates and insurance companies will help fill a critical gap and benefit companies facing cash flow problems, low demand and disruption in operations.  The online and paperless claims process is seamless and is supported by a dedicated health claims management team.” 

The Insurance policies can be customized for corporates to provide coverage from Rs 50,000 to Rs 50 lakh towards hospitalization cover, at private as well as government hospitals. The coverage will include ICU treatment, road ambulance and access to a secondary medical opinion. The product is exclusive to the Indian market and requires a positive test report for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) conducted at an ICMR Authorized Test Centre in India.  

Vyvienne Wade, CEO of International Operations at Gallagher said: “Insurance allows commerce to continue and businesses to provide essential services to local communities. A hospitalization cover at this time will give confidence to those who are challenged by travel restrictions and lockdown.’’

To allow operations of factories and essential services during the lockdown, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in a circular dated 15 April 2020 released revised guidelines mandating health insurance cover for all workers. This has been followed by a circular from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) advising insurers to provide group and individual insurance cover, with simple wordings and conditions.

Edelweiss-Gallagher was formed through a minority stake acquisition in Edelweiss Insurance Brokers Limited (EIBL) by Gallagher, in May 2019. Supported by a network of Sub-Brokers and Authorised Persons, the Group has strategic presence across all major cities and business hubs in India. EIBL is a subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, serving more than 1.2 million clients through a network of over 450 offices and 10,000 employees. Press release: here

Gallagher provides specialist insurance advisory capability in the Asian region from its Singapore regional hub, offering expertise in a range of commercial risks including construction, energy, marine & cargo, media & entertainment, property and trade credit & political risk. Our office has specialists that can assist you with all of your commercial insurance or benefits and HR consulting needs. 

About Edelweiss Financial Services

The Edelweiss Group is one of India's leading diversified financial services companies, providing a broad range of financial products and services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, institutions and individuals. Edelweiss's products and services span multiple asset classes and consumer segments across domestic and global geographies. Its businesses are broadly divided into Edelweiss Global Investment Advisors (Wealth Management, Capital Markets, Asset Management and Asset Reconstruction), Credit (Retail Credit comprises of Retail Mortgage, SME and Business Loans, ESOP and Margin Financing, Agriculture and Rural Finance and Corporate Credit comprises of Structured Collateralized Credit to Corporates and Wholesale Mortgages) and Insurance (Life and General Insurance). Edelweiss has a Balance Sheet of INR 48,193 Cr, as of 31st December, 2019. The Group had revenues of INR 11,165 Cr. and PAT of INR 995 Cr. for FY19. 

The group’s research driven approach and proven history of innovation has enabled it to foster strong relationships across all client segments. The group has sizeable presence in the large retail segment, through its businesses such as Life Insurance, Housing Finance, Mutual Fund and Retail Financial Markets. Together with strong network of Sub-Brokers and Authorized Persons, Edelweiss group has presence across all major cities in India. 

Max Life to be 70:30 Joint Venture between Max Financial Services and Axis Bank

• Deal marks coming together of 3rd largest private bank and 4th largest private life insurer.


• Strategic transaction to strengthen the franchise and bring long term orientation to the relationship.


• Axis Bank to own 30% stake in Max Life post transaction closure.


• Max Life to include Axis Bank logo in its brand tag line to demonstrate the close-knit partnership

Axis Bank Limited (Axis Bank) and Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) announced the signing of definitive agreements to become joint venture partners in Max Life Insurance Company Limited (Max Life). Axis Bank will hold 30% stake in Max Life post transaction closure. The development will result in a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between Axis Bank and Max Life and bring the stability of a long-term partnership to India's fourth largest private life insurance franchise. The joint venture arrangement will significantly improve Max Life's competitive position vis a vis its competitors, including the other large bank owned private life insurers.

The Boards of Axis Bank, MFS and Max Life approved the transaction late on 27th April 2020. This is an outcome of the inter-se discussions after the three companies had signed a confidentiality and exclusivity arrangement on 20th Feb 2020 to explore the possibility of a long-term strategic partnership between Axis Bank and Max Life.

Max Financial Services presently holds a 72.5% stake in Max Life and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI) owns 25.5% stake. Axis Bank also has a minor stake in the life insurer.

The aforesaid transaction with Axis Bank follows the ongoing swapping by MSI of 20.6% stake that it holds in Max Life with a 21.9% stake in MFS. MFS also plans to purchase MSI's balance stake in Max Life. Post completion of the series of transactions, Max Life will become a 70:30 joint venture between MFS and Axis Bank. The proposed transactions are subject to approval of requisite corporate and regulatory authorities (including IRDAI, RBI and CCI).

Max Life's tag line will include Axis Bank's name, which will further enhance customer trust in the brand and highlight the strength of the partnership.

Axis Bank is the third largest private bank and Max Life is the fourth largest private life insurer in India. The two companies have had a successful business relationship for over a decade, providing long term saving and protection products to over 19 lakh customers. The total premium generated through this relationship has aggregated to over Rs. 38,000 crores. Both companies have invested extensively in product and need-based sales training, thereby leading to consistent increase in productivity.

Announcing the transaction, Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry, MD and CEO, Axis Bank, said, "We continue to believe in the long-term prospects of India's under-penetrated life insurance space, current environment notwithstanding. We see this joint venture creating immense value for our stakeholders given our long standing, high performing partnership with Max Life. We believe this transaction will allow us to deepen our working relationship leading to better integrated teams and infrastructure and a superior alignment in our approach."

Welcoming the development, Mr. Analjit Singh, Founder and Chairman, Max Group, said, "This move is an emphatic signal that Max Life will become an even more formidable player in the Indian life insurance space. We at Max Group have had a long-standing record of having successful joint ventures. We achieve this by choosing partners with complementary skills, a matching belief system and a shared vision for the future of the business. I believe that in Axis, we have found an exceptional partner and we have conviction that this will make Max Life fundamentally stronger, better performing and will bring stability to the franchise. We will run the organization as if it's an equal partnership, a philosophy which has held us in good stead earlier as well."

Mr. Pralay Mondal, Executive Director - Retail Banking, Axis Bank, added, "This transaction would enable Axis Bank to take its partnership with Max Life to the next level. Max has been a well-managed, professional organization with product and distribution capabilities that can be significantly augmented by this partnership, thus leading to greater customer value."

Elaborating the rationale for the potential transaction, Mr. Mohit Talwar, Vice Chairman, Max Group and Managing Director, Max Financial Services said, "The strategic benefits of this partnership will be multi-pronged and will continue to unfold over a long period of time. I have no doubt that this joint venture has the potential to catapult Max Life further up on the life insurance league table. The combined trust of the Max and Axis franchise will hold us in good stead, especially in the current scenario where people are seeking safety in well governed and trusted institutions."

Axis Capital acted as the sole advisor to Axis Bank for this transaction.

About Axis Bank

Axis Bank is the third largest private sector bank in India. Axis Bank offers the entire spectrum of services to customer segments covering Large and Mid-Corporates, SME, Agriculture and Retail Businesses. With its 4,415 domestic branches (including extension counters) and 12,173 ATMs across the country as on 31st December, 2019, the network of Axis Bank spreads across 2,521 centres, enabling the Bank to reach out to a large cross-section of customers with an array of products and services. The Axis Group includes Axis Mutual Fund, Axis Securities Ltd., Axis Finance, Axis Trustee, Axis Capital, A.TReDS Ltd., Freecharge and Axis Bank Foundation.

About Max Financial Services

Max Financial Services Limited (MFS), a part of the leading Indian multi-business conglomerate Max Group, is the parent company of Max Life, India's largest non-bank, private life insurance company. MFS actively manages a 72.5% stake in Max Life Insurance Company Limited, making it India's first listed company focused exclusively on life insurance.

MFS is listed on the NSE and BSE. Besides a 28.3% holding by Analjit Singh sponsor family, some of Max Financial Services' marquee shareholders include KKR, New York Life, Baron, Vanguard, Blackrock, Aberdeen, First Voyager, Jupiter, Dimension, East Spring and the Asset Management Companies of Nippon, HDFC, ICICI Prudential, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Mirae, BNP, DSP and Sundaram.

About Max Life

Launched in 2000, Max Life is India's largest non-bank private life insurer and the fourth largest private life insurance company, with gross premium income of Rs. 14,575 crore and a Claims Paid Ratio of 98.74% in FY19 It currently has over 4 million policies in force and has a pan-India presence through 345 branch units. Max Life Insurance offers comprehensive long-term savings, protection and retirement solutions through its high-quality agency distribution and multi-channel distribution partners. A financially stable company with a strong track record demonstrated over the last 2 decades, Max Life Insurance offers superior investment expertise. Max Life Insurance has the vision 'to be the most admired life insurance company by securing the financial future of our customers'. The company has a strong customer-centric approach focused on advice-based sales and quality service delivered through its superior human capital.

India Health Insurance Market to Witness Robust CAGR until 2025 - Research

Growing awareness regarding advantages offered by health insurance companies and increasing disposable income to drive the growth of India health insurance market

According to TechSci Research report, “India Health Insurance Market By Type of Insurance Provider (Public, Private, Others), By Insurance Type (Disease, Medical, Income Protection), By Type of Scheme (Voluntary, Mandatory, Others), By Type of Coverage (Individual, Family), By Term of Coverage (Term, Lifetime), By Cash Limit (Up to 2 Lakh, 2.1-3 Lakh, Others), By Mode of Purchase (Online Portal, Insurance Agent, Others), By End User (Minors, Adults, Senior Citizens), By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025”, India health insurance market is expected to register robust growth during forecast period.

Surging working population, increasing disposable income and rising awareness towards policies offered by health insurance companies are the major factors driving the Indian health insurance market. Additionally, the mandatory provision of providing health insurance for both private and public sector employees is further anticipated to fuel the growth of health insurance market in India through 2025.

Moreover, Government of India had launched National Health Protection Scheme under ‘Ayushman Bharat’ which provides coverage of up to USD7,723 to more than 100 million vulnerable families. This gave a boost to the health insurance sector in the country. This has further driven insurance penetration in the country and proliferation of insurance schemes, thereby positively impacting the market growth.

Browse XX market data Tables and XX Figures spread through XXX Pages and an in-depth TOC on " India Health Insurance Market" - https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/india-health-insurance-market/4658.html

India health insurance market is segmented based on type of insurance provider, insurance type, type of scheme, type of coverage, term of coverage, cash limit, mode of purchase, end user and region. Based on type of insurance provider, the market is segmented into public, private and standalone health insurers. In 2019, private insurance providers accounted for the largest share in India health insurance market.

Private insurance providers offer quick referral to a consultant, provide advanced treatment options and have quick and flexible treatment time for users in private hospitals. Based on insurance type, the market is segmented into disease, medical and income protection.

In 2019, medical insurance type dominated the health insurance market in India owing to increasing cases of road accidents in the country. Medical insurance covers almost all the incurred expenses while admitting a patient to a hospital in the event of any medical agency. It may include cost of medical admission, diagnostic tests including MRI & CT scan, hospital accommodation, nursing care, surgery and cost of seeing consultant or a doctor.

Major players operating in the India health insurance market include Life Insurance Corp of India, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company Limited, Max Life Insurance Company Limited, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Aditya Birla SunLife Insurance Co. Ltd., SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. , ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd., TATA-AIG General Insurance Company Limited, United India Insurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limited, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Religare , Health Insurance Company Limited, Bharti Axa General Insurance Company Ltd., Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd, Iffco Tokio General Insurance Ltd, Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Limited and others. Various insurance providing companies are focusing on developing a strong base in e-commerce market as users prefer to understand, compare, and apply for the health coverage & buy insurance packages online.

Download Sample Report  @ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=4658

“The private health insurance sector in India is anticipated to witness higher growth rate due to increasing preference of population towards private insurance policies as they tend to provide customized coverage to the individual based on his budget or cover needed. However, future looks promising for all types of healthcare insurance providers as more and more Indians are taking interest towards securing themselves and their loved ones against all odds by buying insurances ranging from health to life.

Additionally, rise in middle-class population, young insurable population and growing awareness regarding the need for insurance protection cover are anticipated to propel the health insurance market in India until 2025.”, said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

“India Health Insurance Market By Type of Insurance Provider (Public, Private, Others), By Insurance Type (Disease, Medical, Income Protection), By Type of Scheme (Voluntary, Mandatory, Others), By Type of Coverage (Individual, Family), By Term of Coverage (Term, Lifetime), By Cash Limit (Up to 2 Lakh, 2.1-3 Lakh, Others), By Mode of Purchase (Online Portal, Insurance Agent, Others), By End User (Minors, Adults, Senior Citizens), By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025”has evaluated the future growth potential of India health insurance market and provides statistics & information on market size, structure and future market growth.

The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in India health insurance market.

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https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/india-home-insurance-market/4238.html

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https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/india-car-insurance-market/4241.html

Tips for Choosing The Best Life Insurance

Death is not an option. It’s only that time isn’t ripe. However, death shouldn’t scare you. It’s a natural happening. It was designed to happen. But where will you leave your family after death? How are you going to leave your family? Will they go to school? What about those bills you left behind? Hard questions, right? Well, don’t leave your family suffering when you are gone. Take a life insurance cover and leave your family with peace. Choose the best policy and cushion your family from future expenses. Here is how to get the best policy.

Duration

Do you need a short-term or a long-term policy? If you need a medium period policy of about five to 30 years, consider investing in term insurance. As compared to other policies, term insurance is less expensive. However, it doesn’t work for those who want lifetime coverage. People who’ve higher obligations and regular income often prefer term insurance. And this is mainly because of the cash value feature that somehow works as a retirement fund.

Affordability

It’s always advisable to choose a plan with affordable premiums. Should you need coverage for a longer period of time, life insurance gives you the flexibility to change to your preferred policy.

If you want to have comprehensive coverage for your entire life, then purchase permanent life insurance. Of course, you’ll pay a higher annual premium, but in the long run, the total cost will be considerably lower.

Investment

Most life insurance proceeds are usually free from taxes. However, there are certain cases where the accumulated money value is on a deferred basis. Thus, if you’ve enough funds to invest, consider purchasing a permanent policy with cash value. Of course, you’ll have to pay more in terms of premiums but while insured, you’ll be able to build up an investment account within your policy.

Cash Value

Do you want a policy that will help you invest and reap benefits? Well, if so, invest in UL policy. With UL policy, you have a coverage that comes with an investment option. This means you get covered while investing. With time, you gain cash value from your investment.

Term Life Insurance

Term insurance is a popular option when purchasing life insurance. Normally, this is a policy that provides you with coverage for a certain period of time. For instance, if you want your kids to be assured of going to college, you can build a college fund through term insurance cover.

Lower Premiums

Term insurance is for those who are looking for large insurance coverage but have a limited amount of budget. The beneficially can only access the funds of the insured passes on during the life of the policy. However, if you don’t die after the expiry of the policy, the coverage is voided.

The Bottom-Line

It’s not all about getting any insurance policy. The deal is in purchasing the right type of coverage. Compare life insurance packages here and get coverage with the features that fit into your explicit needs. The above article will help you choose a policy you can be proud of.

Tips To Increase Your Take-Home Salary

Assessing one’s earning potential by the means of one’s CTC figure is one thing, but it is quite another to assess it by evaluating one’s take-home salary. After being slashed by various taxes and charges, it is possible that your lucrative salary package does not amount to the in-hand paycheck you were hoping for.

That is why every working professional should be well-versed with a few basic points to help them increase their take-home salary, even if there are no changes to their CTC. As a result, you will also be able to increase your earning potential and gain greater financial freedom. All in all, the methods of increasing your salary amount to two major factors:

1. Restructuring your CTC, and
2. Making the most of tax-saving investments

Restructuring your CTC

Typically, the offered CTC figures vary from one company to another, and their structures vary as well. The Indian government mandates minimum contributions for sections such as Employee Provident Fund (EPF), gratuity and Employees’ State Insurance. But otherwise, there are no fixed rules on setting the CTC. Therefore, it falls upon you to restructure, or make the most of, your current CTC structure to maximise your take-home pay.

Here are a few tips you can follow:

• Salaried employees paying rent for their accommodation can claim exemptions on House Rent Allowance or HRA. It is the only component in your CTC that is not fully taxable. Therefore, the amount you pay towards your rent is eligible for partial tax exemption. You can also restructure your basic pay to increase your HRA and bring the number as close to your rent amount as possible.


• You should also make use of Leave Travel Allowance to reimburse your travel expenses and save on tax. It is exempt from tax under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act and allows for 2 journeys within the span of 4 years.


• Components such as medical allowance and food coupons are also efficient ways of increasing your take-home pay, saving taxes and enjoying additional benefits. Upto Rs. 15,000 every year can be claimed for medical reimbursements while claims for food coupons can go up to Rs. 26,400.

Tax-saving Investments
Other than these, you can maximise your take-home pay by making investments that help you save a considerable amount of taxes annually, such as:

1. National Pension Scheme
   The National Pension Scheme is a useful tool not just to save for retirement but also to avail tax benefits as an employee. Self-contributions to NPS are exempted up to Rs. 50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B). Moreover, under section 80CCD (2), the employer contribution to NPS is eligible for deduction up to 10% of your basic plus DA.



2. Section 80C
   A host of investments are eligible for deductions under Section 80C:E

• Equity Linked Savings Scheme: Such schemes typically have a comparatively low lock-in period, provide exceptionally high returns and have a minimum investment amount of just Rs. 500.

• Employee Provident Fund: The EPF is primarily a retirement benefits scheme. It can also double as a tax-saving investment. The employee’s contribution to the EPF is eligible for deductions under Section 80C.
• Term Insurance: Availing a term insurance plan can ensure ample coverage for your family at low costs. The premiums for term insurance are eligible for deductions under Section 80C for up to Rs. 1.5 Lakh.

There are also other investments that not only help you avail tax deductions under Section 80C, but also provide essential benefits.
You too can increase your take-home salary by finding effective ways of maximising allowances and reducing your tax burden, as mentioned in these tips. However, apart from saving taxes, it is important to safeguard the financial future of your family by making an investment in a reliable term plan. What’s more, with a term plan, you can effectively avail of deductions and exemptions not only on your premiums, but also on the payout you receive, under Section 10(10D).

You can opt for Aegon Life Insurance Aegon Life Insurance plan. Their iTerm plan provides life cover up to the age of 100 years as well as offers a whole host of benefits. You can also customise your term plan by opting for one of the 3 different term plan variants as well as a number of rider options.

WNS Launches Blockchain-based VeriChain to Transform Risk Syndication in Insurance

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced the launch of its blockchain-enabled risk syndication solution, WNS VeriChain. Powered by IBM Hyperledger, the solution addresses complexities and challenges in the syndicated insurance market.

Underpinned by deep domain expertise in the Insurance and Re-insurance industry, WNS’ VeriChain leverages decentralized ledger technology to enable specialty insurers to execute secure transactions in a multi-party ecosystem. It offers a “single view of truth” for all stakeholders in the syndicate including brokers, carriers, and customers, helping drive increased transparency and cooperation thus overcoming disputes and eliminating the need for post facto reconciliations. WNS VeriChain offers end-to-end digitization enabling brokers and carriers improve efficiency and profitability, while enhancing the end-customer experience.

“At WNS, we are focused on leveraging emerging technologies like Blockchain to offer state-of-the-art digital solutions that address critical business challenges faced by our clients. WNS will continue to make strategic investments in new-age technologies with a goal of “co-creating” solutions designed to help our clients transform their businesses and create competitive advantage in their respective markets,” said Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS.

WNS is a trusted partner to more than 30 insurance and re-insurance clients, providing end-to-end solutions across the entire insurance value chain. We are conceptualizing and developing state-of-the-art, innovative business models helping disrupt today’s insurance industry. Our digital solutions powered by deep domain expertise, technology and automation, and advanced analytics are helping clients drive true business transformation.

About WNS

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS) is a leading Business Process Management (BPM) company. WNS combines deep industry knowledge with technology, analytics and process expertise to co-create innovative, digitally led transformational solutions with over 350 clients across various industries. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of BPM solutions including industry-specific offerings, customer interaction services, finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, and research and analytics to re-imagine the digital future of businesses. As of December 31, 2019, WNS had 44,011 professionals across 60 delivery centers worldwide including facilities in China, Costa Rica, India, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

~ BusinessWire India