ACKO Life Insurance to exclusively focus on pure protection products

ACKO Life Insurance shifts to a pure term-only model, aiming to curb mis-selling and tackle India's under-insurance by keeping life cover simple and protection-focused

ACKO Life Insurance on Thursday said the company will focus exclusively on “pure protection” products as it seeks to address rising mis-selling and widening under-insurance in India.   The company said its approach is aimed at prioritising consumer protection over product complexity, positioning itself as a life insurer defined by what it refuses to sell rather than by product diversification.   It is a strategic departure from traditional industry norms, the company said.   This move aims to address the 14.3 per cent surge in industry-wide mis-selling grievances reported in the latest Irdai Annual Report.   By operating a strictly “unmixed” model, the company is prioritising consumer security over complex investment bundles, positioning itself as the first life insurer defined by what it refuses to sell for the benefit of the customer.   By focusing solely on pure term life insurance, ACKO aims to become the first choice of call for customers who prioritise their family’s security over financial jargon.   By decoupling insurance from investment, ACKO Life aims to unlock the ‘protection leverage’ required to bridge this deficit. Specialising in pure-play life insurance allows for the high-value, low-cost cover necessary to improve national penetration and provide the absolute financial certainty that “mixed” products often dilute.   Varun Dua, founder of ACKO, said: “Investment-linked insurance products lure you with the promise of ‘getting something back’. And because we are so enamoured by the idea of getting something, we find ourselves paying for nothing. Inflated premiums, inadequate cover, and investment ‘returns’ that a fixed deposit would outperform. Life insurance has one job: to protect your loved ones from uncertainty. At ACKO Life, we made the hard choice of not mixing life insurance. We refuse to dilute protection with 50 other ‘benefits’ because we believe it does not add any value. It only adds confusion.”