Bharti AXA planning to launch products on women in SMEs

Private sector general insurer, Bharti AXA General Insurance (BAGI) is planning to launch products focussed on women in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), a top company official said.
"At Bharti AXA General Insurance, we are planning to launch products which will be focussed on women in SMEs in the country," Mabel Leung, regional head of brand and insights, AXA Asia told PTI over phone from Bengaluru today.
Mabel said the proposed products would be launched on completion of a study on the topic which will be undertaken in cities of --- Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi. The study would begin by March and it will take six months' for its completion.

"Once the study was complete, Bharti AXA GI will plan some products focussed at women in SME in the country," she said.
"We at Bharti AXA GI are having certain existing products which can also help meet the insurance requirement of women in SME sector in the country. Still, we are looking at the launch of few more products focussed on women in future," BAGI chief underwriting officer Parag Gupta said.
Commenting on the total number of policies issued by his company for women, he said, "We don't categorise it according to gender."

However, he added, that BAGI was currently issuing 1.4 lakh policies in overall on a monthly basis.

Total premium collected by the insurance industry in the country from women policy-holders currently stands at USD 10 billion and it was likely to grow 2-4 times by the year 2020, he said.
Meanwhile, Bharti AXA General Insurance and International Finance Corporation have jointly conducted a study on women in small and medium enterprise.
The study shows that women entrepreneurship is an important aspect for economic growth in India and the segment has been growing at a rate of 4.5 per cent annually.
According to the study, there are about 30 lakh micro, small and medium enterprises in the country which are fully or partially owned by women.

For women entrepreneurs and for women in SME, while starting and growing their business itself is a large challenge, they often encounter gender-based barriers such as discriminatory property acquisition, matrimonial and inheritance laws and/or cultural practices.
Adding to that, another glaring problem faced by women is lack of access to formal financial inclusion, limited mobility and access to information and networks.