Dabur Cgu To Lay Thrust On Bancassurance

Dabur CGU Life Insurance Company will commence operations in the beginning of the next calendar year. The pilot project will start in December in a few centres. A major sales drive will be through bancassurance as Dabur CGU intends to adopt a three-tier model.

The global experience of the $300-billion CGU International Plc has proved bancassurance to be a successful model, with 20 per cent of its total $8 billion global premiums coming through strategic alliances with banks. "We have 40 major partnerships in bancassurance and if one were to include the non-exclusive tie-ups, we have more than 200 partners," said Dabur CGU director, marketing and distribution, Shah J Rouf.

 

In the Indian context, Dabur CGU has struck an alliance with Canara Bank for nationwide distribution. Dabur CGU does not intend to strike any other alliances with public sector banks.

Said Rouf: "Canara Bank has a branch network of over 2,000 branches and we cannot afford to tie up with more than one such organisation".

Dabur CGU, however, has identified strategic tie-ups with two to three multi-national banks. It has tied up with ABN Amro and will shortly announce the second tie-up. "We also wish to have a strong regional reach and hence are looking at three to four private sector banks," said Rouf. Dabur CGU has tied up with the Tamil Nadu-based Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

"These alliances will give us different types of customers with minimal over-lapping. This will also help avoid channel conflicts," said Rouf.

Dabur CGU, which intends to adopt a multiple distributional channel in the sale of its products, has an advantage over other insurance companies. Said Rouf: "We have a successful experience in bancassurance, and this would not have come about if we (CGU) had tied up with a financial institution or bank. This is because we would be seen as competition for banks venturing into the field".

Aside from the bancassurance channel, Dabur CGU intends to tap non-conventional channels. In the UK, CGU has sold a number of products through the supermarket chain, Texco. "We are looking at new opportunities to offer greater convenience to the customer in purchasing life products," stated Rouf.