Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has held on to its position as a brand that customers are most loyal to, but it is fast losing the huge lead it once had over private sector brands in the business. LIC is followed by Kotak Life at number two and Bharti AXA Life/ SBI Life Insurance (joint third spot) according to Insurance India 2016, a study by IMRB International, which has also found that about seven in ten customers (69 per cent) are ‘loyal’ to their insurance provider, up from 60 per cent last year.
In a customer satisfaction survey conducted as part of the study, customers also said that they were more satisfied with their insurers as compared to 2015. Satisfaction was a direct outcome of better products, greater adequacy of riders and a general consensus that returns and affordability on the products were more in line with the expectations. Together, improvement in service and the nature of the product have contributed to higher levels of brand satisfaction and loyalty.
Satisfied customers are more loyal, the numbers indicate. Among insurers, HDFC Life gained the most in loyalty over 2015, followed by Kotak Life Insurance. Praveen Nijhara, VP, IMRB-Stakeholder Management unit said, “It is evident that private players have made inroads into building customer loyalty by delivering positive and consistent experiences.” Nijhara likens this to the telecom industry, where it took more than a couple of years for private sector players like Airtel, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance to find their groove.
