Sahaj Insurance gets Irdai licence, targets 100 mn rural policies in 1st yr

Sahaj Insurance Services Pvt Ltd, which recently received a corporate agency licence from IRDAI, aims to sell about 10 crore insurance policies designed to suit the rural population.

Sahaj Insurance Services Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Sahaj Retail Ltd, operates a network of about 4.5 lakh digitally enabled rural centres serving over 70 crore people.

In a statement, the Kanoria Foundation company said the new vertical is designed to make insurance, long characterised by low awareness and limited access in rural regions, simple, affordable and accessible at the last mile.

Sahaj Centres will offer a full suite of insurance products, with trained Sahaj Mitrs facilitating customer onboarding, support and claims assistance, it said.

"Customers will be able to access assisted digital enrolment, paperless processes, multi-lingual support and help with filing claims. These features are essential for first-time insurance adopters in rural markets. The services will also integrate government-backed insurance and social-security schemes to deepen financial inclusion," Sahaj Retail Ltd CEO Biswajit Chatterjee said.

The tailor-made insurance policies will help rural families safeguard themselves from unforeseen risks and plan for more secure futures, he said, adding that Sahaj Insurance intends to sell about 10 crore policies in the first year of its operation.

The portfolio includes life, health, accident, crop, livestock and micro-insurance products developed in partnership with leading insurers, it said, adding that the focus is on low-premium, high-relevance policies tailored to households in agrarian and informal-sector economies.

The company operates through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) or Sahaj Mitrs, who are trained to offer digital services to underserved communities.

These include doorstep access to e-governance schemes, digital payments, and mobile-based banking.

Currently, Sahaj is active in states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, North East and Odisha, and intends to deepen its footprint across central and eastern India.