Max Life brings 'New Work System' for agents

Aims to tackle attrition, mis-selling with the initiative

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Max Life Insurance has launched a new initiative, New Work System (NWS), aimed at improving agents’ productivity through constant training and thereby checking their attrition.

The process involves daily training for agents, automated product suggestions and use of tablets for sale. Rajesh Sud, CEO and MD of Max Life Insurance, said this would enable agents to sell only those products that meet customers’ requirements. “We have understood the agent is the primary source of information for several customers. Hence, it is crucial the agent is given adequate training on a daily basis to ensure they understand the importance of right selling. Our sales managers and officers provide training during working hours (especially in the morning) to these agents everyday, which will equip them better,” Sud said.

The life insurance segment is struggling with a high rate of agent attrition. Over the past three years, some 900,000 agents have quit. The most common reasons cited are a lack of decent compensation, inadequate training and absence of career growth prospects beyond a certain level.

With agents dropping out, insurers have turned to other channels such as bancassurance (selling insurance products through banks). In some companies, bancassurance contributes almost 40 per cent of the total new business premiums. The numbers of agents has reduced from 2.6 million in FY11 to 2.1 million now.

“Customers want to have an agent, who is not only long-lasting but also transparent. Our NWS initiative will provide the adequate skills to the agents to have better conversations with customers,” added Sud.

Max Life believes this new initiative will help in improving quality of selling, customers’ comprehension of products, need-based sales, etc. According to Sud, NWS will improve quality of sale and check mis-selling. The system will also offer automated product suggestion. “This preserves the required human interface but at the same time automation removes human biases,” said Sud.

NWS will provide an on-the-spot, “benefit illustration” for customers. It will also capture the complete sales journey and summary of the dialogue will be sent to the customer through email. The entire sales process is done through tablet-based application. This, said Sud, will improve the conversion efficiency of sales and, therefore, improve agent rewards.

Max Life has already implemented NWS in 77 offices and one-third of its agency distribution offices. Sud said all agency offices will be covered under the system by the end of the next financial year.