Nippon Life to bring after-sales mantra to India

Japanese insurance giant, Nippon Life Insurance has decided to bring a new “mantra” into the Indian life insurance market with introduction of post-sales service along with its Indian partner, Reliance Life Insurance.

“We make it a rule that all our sales people visit every customer at least once a year periodically. Throughout these periodic visits, not only are we able to protect our customers and address their changing needs of their life stage but at the same time, this visit becomes great opportunity to cross sell or up sell or get a re-follow of another new customer. So the thing is throughout this customer service activity, we are able to acquire new business. That is why we are focusing on this customer service activity. This kind of the method, or how after sales service should be.

“I am not saying we are addressing 100 per cent of the customer satisfactions but we would like to reciprocate this kind of experience or initiative that we have been doing, trying to do at Nippon life also at Reliance life,” Nippon Life Insurance president Yoshinobu Tsutsui said.

Mr. Tsutsui said life insurance is long term product and during this period, the needs of the customers change according to his or her life stage. For example he or she might get married, have children, reaches retirement ages. At each stages of life, there is a requirement to review the current policy that the customer is enrolling. That’s why it is very important for sales agents to periodically visit the customers to find out their diversifying needs in their various life stages. This is the key point in enhancing customer satisfaction,” he told The Hindu.

“We have gathered various experiences, know-how and best practices in Japan. Now, it’s our turn to share the experience with our partner Reliance Life Insurance,” Mr. Tsutsui added. The $650 billion Nippon Life is a 124-year-old company and Asia's largest private life insurer and seventh biggest in the world.

Talking about the products, he said Nippon Life started with a saving type product and later shifted to death protection type of the products protecting family. Now more recently health insurance, annuity and nursing-care products are getting popularity in Japan. Noting that the majority product portfolio is unit-linked in India, he observed that death protection will be main products in the market to be required by Indian population, adding that so will be health insurance and annuity products also.

He said Nippon Life was interested in finding out what kind of trend the Indian life insurance industry is going to take in terms of product development. “We will be more than happy to help Reliance Life Insurance in capturing the trend shift in product portfolio and developing that kind of new products. The fact that they have a vast distribution network across all over the India and already have a strong business base was also very attractive for us,” he remarked.

The company had made two foreign direct investments (FDI) in the domestic financial services sector to the tune of over Rs. 4,500 crore through the Reliance group. The Japanese firm has invested Rs. 3,062 crore in Reliance Life Insurance and close to Rs. 1,450 crore in Reliance Capital Asset Management Company, part of Reliance Capital.