The speed of product launches increases as any industry opens up, and that is also being seen in the insurance sector. However, this will not the differentiating factor as insurance companies are instead being assessed on the basis of execution and implementation of these products, according to ICICI Lombard General Insurance Executive Director Sanjeev Mantri.
“Launch of a product will not be a key differentiator here. What you require is technology that supplements these and the infrastructure to implement these on the ground. Our execution is far more differentiated than what others can do, and that’s what separates us,” Mantri said.
The statement was made at an event to announce the launch of 14 new or enhanced products by ICICI Lombard General Insurance. These include riders/add-ons and upgrades across health, motor, travel and corporate policies offered by the insurer.
The insurance industry is seeing new types of risks emerging, be it the pandemic, climate change or data privacy, and these call for comprehensive coverage steered by the changing customer behaviour and the advent of new technological solutions and opportunities, the company said.
Mantri said that launches were enabled and fast-tracked by the IRDAI’s recent guidelines on ‘Use and File’ for insurance products.
“We have a product for virtually every segment and fuelled by regulatory reforms, we have accelerated our pace of developing and launching new products. The current era is an exciting period to usher in innovation and reimagine possibilities,” he said.
Some of the products launched include an insurance cover for senior citizens, a first-of-its-kind cashless OPD policy, a single motor policy for multiple vehicles, an emergency medical cover during accidents, home protection for HNI and ultra HNI customers, and travel insurance for new-age requirements such as adventure sports and VISA rejection.
The insurer also introduced drone insurance, retail cyber liability insurance, and a telematics add-on in motor insurance wherein policyholders will have the option to pay premiums as per ‘Pay-As-You-Use’ or ‘Pay-How-You-Use’ plans.
