Gizmos Beckon Insurance Agents

Your fuddy-duddy insurance agent is set to be replaced with a tech-savvy marketing pro who would come armed with gizmos such as laptops and Palm Pilots the next time he makes a call.

And it is the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) that has taken the lead over its new private sector rivals by offering interest free loans for purchase of laptops to its top insurance agents and development officers.

Private sector companies are, however, planning to offer not just the hardware -- laptops and hand-held devices -- but are also developing software for their agency force. OM Kotak Life Insurance, for instance, has developed a software, Smart Agent, which would be loaded on to palmtops.

Similarly, ICICI Prudential, India's largest private sector life insurer, is also experimenting with the idea of arming agents with palm-pilots so that they can immediately receive premiums quotes and keep track of their client and product information.

Others like SBI Life, are not arming their agents with any gizmos but are ensuring that their branches -- 6 as of now which would soon increase to 12 -- are equipped with technical tools to calculate premiums and assess prospective clients' insurance needs.

"SBI Life's products are simple, and there are not too many riders. The product brochures are written clearly, mentioning the premium calculation and the benefits. The premium tables are also widely distributed. A prospective client can calculate the premium amount himself and seek the assistance of the agent or the call centre on specific points," the company's chief executive officer R Krishnamurthy said.

On the other hand, LIC executives said that technical aids will not only help the sales force in explaining the benefits of a large number of products but also help them in calculating the premium by clicking a few keys.

The software developed by OM Kotak would also enable agents to use the palmtops as a premium calculator and do a need analysis for a customer which, in turn, will enable the company to sell tailor-made products by adding riders.

But initially the use of technology would be limited to the top agents of these companies. OM Kotak chief marketing officer Treman Ahluwalia said that 200 agents would be given palm tops and that too based on the outcome of a contest. Similarly, LIC's decision to provide interest free loans would be limited to the top agents and development officers.

In a recent circular to its zonal offices, LIC has said all its Million Dollar Round-Table (MDRT) agents would be eligible for an advance of up to Rs 80,000, while the top performing 'Top of the Table' or 'Court of the Table' agents could take a loan of up to Rs 1,00,000. The agent would be required to make the repayment in five years.

To add a stick to the carrot, an agent who avails of the loan and subsequently fails to make the MDRT grade, would have to pay an interest rate of 12 per cent on the advance, according to the circular. If the agent makes the grade again for two years, the interest would be waived off for the remaining tenure of the loan.