Corporate Newsletter of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

NEWSTRACKCorporate Newsletter of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance March 2006

1000 crores Premium IncomeFront CoverDILDAAR, INDIA: An IndianKashmiri family begins todisassemble their damaged homein Dildaar village, some 205 kmswest of Srinagar, 20 October2005.(Photo credit: DeshakalyanChowdhury/AFP/Getty Images)Issue date: March 2006Published by: Bajaj Allianz General InsuranceEditorial Team:Santosh BalanAjay VarmaPrinted at: Pragati Art Printers, HyderabadBajaj Allianz Newstrack, a quarterly newsmagazine ofBajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited,provides current information on the activities of BajajAllianz, India and it's affiliates.For further information on the articles and newsappearing in this magazine please contact SantoshBalan at +91-20-56026603or email santosh.balan@bajajallianz.co.inVisit our website: www.bajajallianz.co.inViews / Information expressed herein are illustrative andinformative in nature and not binding on the company. Insurance isthe subject matter of solicitation.Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company LimitedGE Plaza, Airport Road, Yerawada, Pune - 411006Bajaj Allianz General Insurance crossed amajor milestone by garnering an annualpremium income of over Rs. 1000 crores.The Gross Written Premium as on 31stJanuary, 2006 rose to Rs. 1067 crores, whichis a growth of over 53% over the previousyear for the same period. The company hasissued over 3 million policies in the currentfiscal.This is a significant milestone in thecompany's corporate journey and has beenachieved within a short span of five years.The performance has also been consistentwith all round growth.Bajaj Allianz in its five years has built aformidable reputation and displayed its riskappetite by underwriting big projects likeIndian Oil Refineries, Essar Refinery project,Infrastructure projects including Thermal andHydroelectric projects and has a share inunderwriting the new Bangalore Airport,Kingfisher Airlines and Delhi Metro projects.Bajaj Allianz is the only private sectorinsurance company to be active in issuingFilm, TV productions and, Event insurancefor sporting events such as golf, cricket andeven Stage Shows and Product launches.In the retail sector, the company launchedseveral new and innovative products likeWedding Insurance, Travel Asia for travelersto Asian countries, Credit Insurance in tie-upwith Euler Hermes, E-Opinion, Silver Health– the only health insurance plan specificallyfor people above 45 years, amongst manyothers.

BancassuranceSuccessful PartnershipsKamesh Goyal - CEOGreetings!Till the year 2000, the General Insurance Industry had onlyone distribution channel- Agency. This channel contributedless than 20% of the business. Most of the business wasbasically done on a direct basis. When the Insurance sectoropened up and new companies started their operations, settingup multiple distribution channels became imperative.Bancassurance - selling insurance through banks, has beenquite successful in Europe and all new insurance companieswere keen to develop this. Bajaj Allianz has focused ondeveloping this channel since the inception of it’s business.Over a period of time, we understood the channel better, andhave now developed a robust business model. The channel hasa few peculiarities, allow me to explain them.Bank branches have been dealing with individual developmentofficers for over 15-20 years for insurance purpose. Withprivatisation, Banks started becoming corporate agents ofinsurance companies (through national tie-ups) and startedrouting business through these companies directly. Thisobviously disrupted the existing relationship with thedevelopment officer at the local level. Thus, the initial reactionof bank branches was not too cooperative, and every smallissue would get exploded into a crisis for which the insurancecompany would be held responsible. However, we have noticedthat strong direction from a bank's top management andtactful handling by the insurancecompany can correct the situation in just3-4 months time.The premium per policy from a bank istypically low. This means that thenumber of policy documents is veryhigh, making policy issuance a bigchallenge. Till the year 2003, our officesused to struggle to keep pace withdocumentation. Today, after makingsuitable changes in our systems, we areable to handle this aspect fairlysatisfactorily.Banks have tie-ups with only oneinsurance company and they expect thatinsurance company to accept all thebusiness, which at times insurancecompany can not underwrite, as everyinsurance company has its ownunderwriting philosophy and reinsurancearrangement. We have realised that beingtransparent and flexible with banks helpssort issues over a period of time.When we started doing business withNewstrack March 20063

anks, we focused a lot on giving the right MIS tothem. Thus they know which assets are covered andthose that are not, premium per branch, getting theright documentation etc. During the recent floods inMumbai and earthquake in Kashmir - we receivedover 1500 claims on policies issued through banks.We settled most of the claims to the satisfaction ofthe bank and the customers. However, goingforward, receiving complete and correct informationabout risks is very critical. This is an area where werequire more support from the banks.The number of branches for a mid sized bankexceeds 500. Bajaj Allianz has tie-ups with over 20banks and is servicing over 5000 bank branches.Coordinating with these branches, servicing themand training the bank staff becomes a big task. Overa period of time we have developed a SOP (StandardOperating Procedure) to service bank branches.Despite the progress, we still have a lot of scope forimprovement.These are just a few examples which show thatBancassurance is a different business that requiresoperational excellence and a flexible approach fromthe insurance company. We are committed to developthis channel and are already recognised as a leader inthe same. In this issue of Newstrack you will read alot more about Bancassurance. Personally for meBancassurance offers a great opportunity to meetsome of the best people in the financial servicesindustry and to learn something new. Besides it offersme the opportunity to travel to beautiful places likeSrinagar (on work)!In January 2006, we crossed Rs. 1000 crores inannual premium income for the first time. To achievethis milestone in less than five years since the start ofthe company is a big achievement. We would nothave reached here but for the trust of our customers,support of our intermediaries, encouragement fromour reinsurers and hard work of my colleagues. Ithank you all!kamesh.goyal@bajajallianz.co.in"We started our relationship in March2005, and the same is running quitesmoothly for over eleven months. Thingshave stabilized and our customers are quitehappy with the services being offered byBajaj Allianz. However now that thebusiness has stabilized, we shall also beselling insurance to clients from our branchcounters."Mr. Jyotindra MehtaChairmanRajkot Nagrik Shakari Bank Ltd."KVB has taken a lead in promotingBancassurance business in 2003 itself. Ithas tied up with Bajaj Allianz GeneralInsurance to sell non –life insuranceproducts. The business relationship hasbeen growing strength to strength, Becauseof mutual trust of the partners, KVBforecasts a bright growth both for Bankand Insurance Company in the days tocome."Mr. P. T. KuppuswamyChairmanKarur Vysya Bank Limited"We have been associated with BajajAllianz since the last one-year and we areproud to be associated with Bajaj Allianz.This partnership has worked well for ourcustomers as well as improved ourbottomline. "Mr. R .U. KhetanChairmanThe Akola Janata Commercial Bank"The privileged partnership with BajajAllianz will enable us to offer insuranceproducts with our offerings, and devisecustomised products for our clients acrossall segments."Mr. Rana KapoorManaging Director & CEOYES Bank4Bajaj Allianz

CONTENTSBancassurance - Successful PartnershipsA brief overview on Bancassurance by Kamesh Goyal, CEO - Bajaj Allianz GeneralInsurance.Special Feature- BancassuranceBajaj Allianz - Banking SectorMr. Atanu Singh Mukherjee, Head - Institutional Relationships - Bajaj Allianz GeneralInsurance gives us a detailed insight into the running of the Bancassurance channelfrom the perspective of the Insurance company, it's benefits to both partners and thechallenges faced and overcome by the players involved.Point of ViewDr. H. A. Drabu, Chairman - Jammu & Kashmir BankThe Bancassurance channel - From our Banking Partner's point of view.Disaster Strikes Jammu & KashmirOur cover story on the earthquake that struck J & K in October of 2005, causingwidespread destruction and the efforts of the company to minimise suffering for thoseinsured.ClaimstrackA Fact and Figures analysis of the kind of claims made, how many of those weresettled and the time taken to settle such claims.International ReportNurturing Bancassurance in AsiaAn article featured in the January edition of Allianz Journal 2004 on the growingsuccess of the Bancassurance channel in the Asian financial markets.Interviews with our Bancassurance PartnersMr. Ananthakrishna, Chairman- Karnataka Bank, in an interview with Newstrack.Mr. P. K. Gupta, CMD - UBI, talks about his bank’s association with Bajaj Allianz.Mr. Hemant Kaul, President - Retail Banking - UTI Bank, shares his Bancassuranceexperience with Baja Allianz.36810121316Spotlight: – Rajkot OfficeFrom near failure to astounding success, this office of Bajaj Allianz has seen aturnaround that has everybody talking.19Newstrack March 2006 5

fairly new to them. We have developed training modulesspecifically for bank staff, which are conducted atmutually agreed times. A ready reckoner- of productswith features and benefits, and other publicity materialis regularly sent to all partners.IT and MISThe channel brings with it massive challenges inactivating far flung remote branches, besides the highlevel of documentation since the premium amount islow. The investment we have made in IT to developcustomized software for this channel is significant andnow we are capable of handling over one milliontransactions!Some of the challenges in IT were:• Location and connectivity – Integration of largenumber of branches across difficult terrain inIndia involved a networking with our main hubfor policy issuance and servicing. This wasachieved by developing a customised modulesolely for Bancassurance, which included a webbasedand off-line system to take care ofconnectivity issues, in remote areas, therebyreducing TAT(Turn around time) fordocumentation to four days.• Product line – Given the diversity of our vastproduct portfolio, customizing the same to thebanks’ requirement is also an operationalchallenge. A special module for Fire andBurglary (being the most common retailproducts) was developed. Our expertise led tothe development of over 18 different modulesfor various bundled products in health insurancealone.• MIS for bank partners -A robust MIS whichcould easily be transported in MS-Excel fordetailed business analysis and timely decisionmaking was created with channel partners’requirements in mind giving product-wise,office-wise revenue generation andprofitability.Flexibility in Developing Customized InsuranceProductsDesigning customized products for a particularbank’s customers has been given emphasis. Someexamples are K-Secure, K-Home Secure forKarnataka Bank; Safe Guard, Safe Home andFamily Health for UTI Bank; Family Care for IDBIBank; Special Health coverage plans for Yes Bankand Deutsche Bank; Home Loan Portfolio coverageetc.The customer can simply tick and buy any of theseproducts at the time of opening up of an account oranytime thereafter.Decentralisation of Claims and ServicingAll operating offices have the authority to issuepolicies and settle claims for faster turnaround timeby closely working with bank staff and thecustomers.The success of the partnership would depend onhow the insurer and the bank can integrate systems,culture and targets towards a common goal.Accomplishment of joint goals comes from a strongfoundation of mutual trust, accessibility at all timesfrom top management and willingness to resolveissues with flexibility.Bajaj Allianz has worked with this concept,straddling retail, SME and corporate segmentsuccessfully with the bank for business generation.Our flexibility to tailor make the joint workingmodule, to suit a wide array of banking entities isamplified by our current partners ranging from PSU,Private Sector, Foreign, Co-operative, District Cooperativebanks, Regional Rural banks andFinancial institutions."Our flexibility to tailor make the joint working module, to suit a wide array ofbanking entities is amplified by our current partners ranging from PSU, PrivateSector, Foreign, Co-operative, District Co-operative banks, Regional Ruralbanks and Financial institutions."atanusingh.mukherjee@bajajallianz.co.inNewstrack March 2006 7

Point of ViewJammu & Kashmir Bank - Bancassurance ChannelDr. H. A. DrabuChairman - Jammu & Kashmir Bankhe convergence of financial services in Indiais in keeping with the global trend that hasrevolutionized the services sector. Thisconvergence is increasingly blurring theboundaries between banking and non-bankingfinancial services. The trend is exemplified bywidespread distribution of Insurance productsthrough bank branches – a phenomenon knownas Bancassurance, precursor to formation ofconglomerates that provide all types of financialproducts and services.Bancassurance as a concept gained currency in thegrowing global insurance market and it’s felt need fornew channels of distribution. In order to satiate theever-growing demand from customers for superiorservices, competitive pricing and convenient access to arange of delivery channels is being offered by the banks.Banks with their geographical spread, multipledistribution channels and penetration in terms ofcustomer reach of all segments, have emerged as a viablesource for distribution of Insurance products.The main drivers for banks in India to jump on to theBancassurance bandwagon is to increase return on assetsthrough fee income, cross-selling financial products,leveraging their strong distribution and processcapabilities and more so taking advantage of proprietarydata bases.Keeping this in focus Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd andBajaj Allianz General Insurance started businessrelationship with a Direct Marketing Arrangement inJuly 2002, which continued till 28th of April 2003,when the Bank became its Corporate Agent & startedselling Insurance products through its branch networkunder 'Bancassurance Model'. Initially the productssuitable to the bank’s loan customers like Motor,Personnel Accident, Consumer credit, Householders’ &Shopkeepers Polices were sold through J&K bankbranches and gradually the product range was extendedto Health Insurance, Cargo Insurance, etc.Despite all risk factors like adaptability of Bankstaff to sell insurance products at branches and stiffcompetition from other insurance companies, wehave succeeded in achieving positive business resultsin the non-life insurance sector. The gross writtenpremium during the period from April 2003 toDecember 2005 has been Rs. 5266.46 lacs, fetchinga substantial commission as income to the Bank.Presently we have a team of trained & licensedInsurance Managers whose services are utilized inprospecting the insurance customers forBancassurance business. It has so far been a win-winsituation for Bajaj Allianz & the Bank, as theCompany while taking advantage of Jammu &Kashmir Bank branch network and the trust reposedin the institution by its customers has not only madea headway in the insurance market of the state, buthas given stiff competition to its competitors whohave been operating in the state for over the lastfour decades. Bajaj Allianz has tapped about 85%of the General Insurance Business, which waspreviously undertaken by various Insurancecompanies operating in the state & outside.Here are some of our success stories:• Before our tie-up with Bajaj Allianz, providing ahassle free insurance cover to Amarnath Yatriswas an uphill task for the J&K Government. Itbecame easier when Bajaj Allianz in associationwith J&K Bank agreed to provide the insurance8Bajaj Allianz

Cover StoryDisaster strikes Jammu & Kashmiron the morning of 8th October 2005, a massiveearthquake measuring 7.6 struck Jammu &Kashmir. To date over 80,000 people have losttheir lives and there has been widespread damageto property. In Jammu & Kashmir state, the worstaffected areas were Uri, Kupwara, Baramulla andPoonch, and many of the interior areas of thestate. The tremor was felt as far as the states ofUttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan andGujarat. The magnitude of the earthquakecompares with the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.Kashmir is located on the northern edge of theIndian techtonic plate which collides withthe Eurasian Plate. In the past this regionhas commonly experienced earthquakes ofsmaller magnitude.called to appraise them about the urgency of thesituation. Each of the surveyors was allotted onearea so as to save on time and also to offer thepeople of that area, a single-window service. Onreaching the sites of devastation, the biggestproblem faced was the absence of originalinsurance policy and other documentary proof. Allinsurance policies for business done throughJammu & Kashmir Bank was traced through theManager (Advances) of the concerned J&KBankbranch to identify all those properties, which wereinsured with us. These were then surveyed. In someThe army and local administrationimmediately swung into action and beganthe process of resettling the affected andlooking after the injured.cases the office was provided with the numberand date of the credit advices sent by thebranches and the policies were tracked.Deepak Dhar, Area Manager- Jammu, wholead the team, said, “In some cases, wesearched the policies from our own database.The idea was to make it least cumbersome forthe affected clients.”On our part a decision was made to extend helpand to reassure the people who were insured by us.A small team was formed in our offices at Jammuand Srinagar, primarily to respond to the telephonecalls from the affected. It was important to conveythe message to all these families that we were thereto help in their hour of need.Policy TrackingOn the second day a meeting of surveyors wasServicing Remote AreasThe earthquake struck in the midst of the severewinter. The snowfall and the severe cold wave onlymade matters worse. There were only a handful ofsurveyors and reaching many of the affectedinaccessible areas was a challenge in itself. Some ofthe areas were 120 kms away from the maincity/town. The average claims size was Rs. 50,000and as the claimants were mainly from the lowermiddle class, the claims if not settled on time10Bajaj Allianz

would only compound their problems. The officemade a decision to camp some of the surveyors inthe affected area for days together so that theycould survey the affected area on a continuous dayto day basis.On-the-Spot Claims SettlementGiven the trauma that the residents wereundergoing after the massive earthquake, the officetried to settle the losses on-the-spot by taking aliberal view on completion of various formalitiesand procedures. In case of stock losses, the officetried to segregate the damaged stocks from thegood one and made an inventory of the same. Anegotiated settlement was taken on-the-spot.Similarly for smaller losses- up to Rs. 1 lac, in caseof property damage, were also settled on the spot.The Chairman and Executive Director of the J&Kbank were constantly kept updated about thespeedy settlement of claims.Delhi and Deepak Dhar from Kanpur was formed,to process and approve earthquake claims. Thisgroup cleared a record 200 claims in a matter of 3days. Within 15 days of the earthquake,dispatching of the claim chequeswas started and within one monthof the tragedy more than 100 claimswere settled.As on 31st January, we havereceived 800 claims and settled 476.Rs. 1.25 crores worth of claimshave been settled and theoutstanding amount is Rs. 1 crore.Intimations of the claims took overa period of 2 months, and hence theno. of claims settled would appearless. But as a matter of fact out ofall the intimations which werereceived in Oct 2005, nearly 95%have been settled.Lower the TAT in Claims SettlementThe surveyors were given a time frame forsubmitting the survey reports and each one of themsubmitted the reports in record time. In order tofurther reduce the TAT (turn around time) insettlement of claims the services of personnel fromother locations were engaged to provide technicalsupport. The experience from the recent floods inother parts of the country was also put to good usein lowering the TAT. Besides Manzoor Dar ofSrinagar office and Mr. Deepak Dhar of Jammuoffice, a team comprising of Marut Dhar fromAppreciation of Good WorkLooking to the magnitude of the calamity, thejudiciary of the state also geared up andconstituted LOK ADALATS at Uri, Kupwara andJammu. Deepak Dhar who attended one suchmeeting, said, “It is a matter of pride for us thatthe Registrar General went on record inappreciation of the good work done by ourcompany. At the same time he severely criticizedthe working of the other insurance companies,going to the extent of issuing non-bailablewarrants against them.”Newstrack March 2006 11

CLAIMSTRACKCLAIMS SETTLEMENT RECORD Dec '04 - Dec '05Line of BusinessO/sason1stDec 2004Registered fromDec04-Dec05Paid till 31stDec 2005O/s as on 31stDec 2005Aviation 7 2 1 8Engineering 202 2109 1835 476Health 1030 36344 34379 2995Liability 6 75 19 62Marine 620 7959 7491 1088Motor 6785 159851 153620 13016Property 449 5987 5019 1417Travel 297 3064 2895 466Workmen Compensation 94 623 536 181Misc and Others 1180 6635 6286 1529Total 10670 222649 212081 21238Claims settlement ratio stands at 91% for Dec '04 - Dec '05CLAIMS PAID ANALYSIS - AGEING Oct '05 - Dec '05Line of BusinessNo. of Claims paidTotalTotal Paid AmountClaims(Rs.)0-30 days 31-90 days 91-180 days >180 days PaidEngineering 166 117 105 48 436 25997960Health 8054 1379 281 45 9759 156888435Liability 1 1 3 3 8 257948Marine 1014 442 230 138 1824 85949882Motor 32059 6362 2069 671 41161 560280868Property 399 645 383 93 1520 662689644Travel 362 209 132 79 782 26261390Workmen Compensation 41 34 22 13 110 3464187Misc and Others 791 435 190 107 1523 46379082Total 42887 9624 3415 1197 57123 156816939692% of the claims were settled within 90 days of intimationCASES REFERRED TO CONSUMER FORUMAs on Dec '05Total No. of CasesNo. of Cases Settled Bajaj Allianz Won Bajaj Allianz Lost421 205 158 4712Bajaj Allianz

Interviews withOur Bancassurance PartnersMr. Ananthakrishna Chairman - Karnataka BankKarnataka Bank, a premier bank, has developed acomprehensive range of customised products &services suitable for every kind of market, trade orperceived need - Business or Personal. Theyinclude, borrowing facilities, deposits, providingoptimum returns on surplus funds or helping withoverseas transactions.The bank believes in total quality at all levels and hasdeployed the most modern information technologysystem to deliver products & services with an aim todevelop an effective long-term relationship.Q1.Karnataka Bank has been our partnersince the last 2 years. Sometime ago, itwas noticed that the business numbersdid not grow initially and it plateaued.How is the situation now?A 1. Yes, in the initial months of ourpartnership, the bank collected amodest amount of premium and thesame level of business continued till December 2004. Weanalysed the reasons for this stagnation and a ‘SteeringCommittee’ comprising of top executives of the bank andinsurance company was formed to review the businessperiodically and to initiate measures for enhancing thebusiness. After one of the steering committee meetings, thefollowing steps were initiated.• Karnataka Bank mapped its requirement for additionalrequirement of sales force, which Bajaj Allianz agreed toprovide.• Bajaj Allianz initiated the process for prompt issuing ofcover notes, policies, endorsements, sending of due notices,fast settlement of claims, etc.• Banacassurance Cell compiled branchwise data of all creditsanctions and provided the same to Bajaj Allianz for followup with respective branches.• Banacassurance Cell is also providing the branches withdetails of renewals well in time and follow up is being madefor big cases.Q2.A 2.Q4.A 4.The above initiatives have started yielding good results,which is reflected in increased premium collection by 50%from January 2005. For the last 3 months we have doubledpremium collection, which is quite commendable. Furtherto the decision of designating bank branches for marketingof Bajaj Allianz products, out of 387 branches, 379branches have generated business and 8 branches whichhave not generated business are either located in remoterural areas or are newly opened branches.How did our association help in your bagging largecustomers?The increase in premium collection is due to higher rate ofloan book conversion and at present nearly 75% ofinsurable assets of bank borrowers are covered under BajajAllianz covers. In respect of high value cases, the joint callsfrom branches and Bajaj Allianz sales team and competitivepricing have played a vital role in convincing customers.What are the steps taken to ensure business is generatedfrom each Bank branch?Our success today is due to frequent interaction of bank’sRegional Heads with Bajaj Allianz sales team, which helpedin increasing the business as well as resolving various serviceissues. In order to get big volumes co-branded OTC productsviz ‘K-Health Care’ ‘K-Health Secure’ and ‘K-Home Secure’16Bajaj Allianz

Q5.A 5.were launched. However, the said OTC products have nottaken off as expected and hence much focus will beextended to market these products in the coming days byinitiating required steps.Would you like to give us suggestions for improvement ofour services?Apart from quoting competitive price, the credibility of aninsurance company is measured on claim settlement andpayout ratio. Here we are happy to note that Bajaj Allianzhas a dedicated team for settlement of claims, which isworking on target to settle claims. The action initiated byBajaj Allianz in settling large number ofclaims of the flood affected in Vadodara-Gujarat and Mumbai is appreciated.The relationship is getting stronger day byday with better understanding. The Non-Life Insurance industry is poised forsweeping change with detariffing to comeinto effect from January 2007 and to combatthe competition, other developments likeimprovement in customer service levels andnewer standards of underwriting are alsolooked forward to.UTI Bank, the first of the new private banks to have begun operationsin 1994, after the Government of India allowed new private banks to beestablished, has a very wide network of more than 415 branch officesand Extension Counters. The Bank has a network of over 1825 ATMsproviding one of the largest ATM networks in the country. The Bankhas strengths in both retail and corporate banking.Mr. Hemant Kaul, President (Retail Banking-UTI Bank), shares hisexperience with Bajaj Allianz- UTI Bank's Bancassurance partner.Mr. Hemant KaulQ1.A 1.Q2.A 2.Bajaj Allianz has launched several customizedproducts like Safe Guard, Safe Home, FamilyHealth, Smart Advantage, etc. Are you satisfiedwith our level of product customization foryour customers?The customized products for UTI Bank areinnovative and offer convenience, simplicitywith easy auto debit and auto renewal featuresand these have been well received by ourcustomers. The easy to choose and selectoptions makes it possible to sell the productsover the counter. The customization hasprovided thrust to our retail initiatives and weare also looking at more customized productsfor our other segments, especially non-retail,very soon.Did you find any problems in integrating ourprocesses and systems with yours?It did take some time for the integration ofprocesses and systems but the IT Teams of bothcompanies handled the challenges quite well. Asthe co-branded products were selling well itresulted in large number of policy applications.There was a challenge of policy issuance withinthe specified time, but was handled well by theinvolvement of a responsive team.Q3.A 3. There were several parameters considered forchoosing Bajaj Allianz as our partner. However moreimportant among other reasons was the fact that thecompany was willing to provide special customisedproducts for UTI Bank customers. Technologysuperiority was also an important factor in ourconsideration which we are using now to issuepolicies like farmer’s package from our branchesQ4.A 4.What was the single most reason for choosing BajajAllianz as your partner?What are the innovative steps you have taken toensure customers are retained?We have provided to our customers the convenienceof payments by auto debit and also provided theoption of auto renewal of policy. The customer,therefore, does not have to remember renewal date ofpolicy, and is secure in the knowledge that the policywill be automatically renewed every year throughauto renewal facility provided at the time of purchaseof the policy.Newstrack March 2006 17

United Bank of India (UBI) with over Rs. 33,000 crores of business has an All-India distributionnetwork of over 1300 branches with a significant presence in rural, semi-urban, urban andmetropolitan areas. The Bank has 87% of it's branch network in Eastern and North EasternRegions of country. It has been the largest lender to the Tea Industry.Mr. P. K. Gupta, CMD - UBI Bank talks about the bank's association with Bajaj Allianz.understanding your needs or claims handling?A 3.We are happy that the policy documents are beingsent in time and the claims settlement is also fast.This has created confidence among the BankOfficials and Customers However, the issue ofPolicy issuance by our Regional Offices isbeing examined to avoid delays especially inremote rural areas.Q 1.A 1.Q 2.A 2.Mr. P. K. GuptaHow did you go about the entire exercise ofrolling out tie-up arrangements in all yourbranches? How effective is the monitoring atvarious levels?The roll out was in phases. Initially it was rolledout in metro and important urban centres.Gradually more branches were added and now allour 1300 odd branches are eligible to conductgeneral insurance business. To determine theprogress of the tie-up, it is important to monitorthe progress on daily basis. In regard to this, theBank gets Region-wise Business figures on a dailybasis from Bajaj Allianz, which helps us inidentifying the performing Regions as well as thoseRegions that are lagging behind. It gives usdetailed information about the number of Policiessold and Premium Generated. Also the RegionalHeads are provided with branch-wise figures on afortnightly basis, which again helps them inmonitoring the growth in their Region.How was the issue of Policy Issuance integrated inyour systems and procedures?The Bank’s role is confined to providing leads forbusiness. Our dealing staff tries to match theinsurance needs of our customers and theBancassurance products available from BajajAllianz. The policies are issued by Bajaj Allianz.Q 3. Are you satisfied with our response time inQ 4. Is adequate training being imparted to yourofficials?A 4. The Bank has been imparting training to itsemployees in all aspects of Bancassurancebusiness. The Bank is also imparting trainingto improve marketing skills so that theyachieve success in canvassing insurancebusiness. Our Nodal Officers have been givenproduct training. By March 2006, at least 20officers would be completing the stipulatedIRDA Training and would become CertifiedInsurance Personnel.The Officials of Bajaj Allianz also makepresentations and interact during the BranchHeads Review meets.Q 5. Would you like to give us your suggestionsfor improving the performance under the Tieup?A 5. There is always room for improvement in anygiven situation. For the areas where thebusiness has not picked up, there should bebetter coordination between the BranchManagers and the officials of Bajaj Allianz.The interaction between Regional Managerswith the officials of Bajaj Allianz should alsobe held regularly. Through prompt settlementof claims, Bajaj Allianz can demonstrate thatit is an Insurance company that is customerfriendly.Such measures will be beneficial forthe Customers, the Bank and Bajaj Allianz.18Bajaj Allianz

SPOTLIGHTRajkot OfficeBajaj Allianz's Rajkot officegeographically covers the entireSaurashtra region, which istraditionally known to be a verydifficult market! The initial period ofthe office saw very bleak times - Theoperation was sluggish within 6 monthsof its commencement in early 2002.Fast forward to 2006, and we see thatthe Rajkot office is in the top 3 officesof Bajaj Allianz!Newstrack traces this trailblazingoffice’s path from imminent failure toits awe inspiring success today.2002- With one Area manager and anIT coordinator, the first year ofoperations saw GWP (Gross writtenpremium) of Rs. 2 crores(cr).2003- A new team was brought instarting July 2003 to start turnaroundwork & increase business. Atul Mehta(Area Manager), Kandarp Mankad(Agency Head) and Jatin Jethva (AM -Technical) along with 3 operationsteam members started the drive to buildretail business for the office in Rajkotand nearby areas. The team couldachieve GWP of Rs. 9.56cr against thebudgeted Rs. 4.75cr GWP in 2003-04.2004- Rajkot team started work on‘chase an office’ concept whichessentially means to set itself a goal ofsurpassing an office doing morebusiness than itself on a month tomonth basis.2005- The team size grew from 6 to 24with the business growing at more than150% on a YoY(year on year) basis.Today Rajkot team is 32 membersstrong.For 2005-06, Atul & his team setthemselves an aggressive target ofachieving Rs. 20cr GWP fromPY(previous year) of Rs. 9.54cr GWP,in order to capture 15%+ market sharein the region amongst all insurers."As on date the team has clocked Rs.17cr GWP and is on track to surpassthe targeted Rs. 20cr mark as well"said Vaibhav Vyas, the new areamanager. By March 2006, it will be thesingle biggest office of any insurer inthe region.Rajkot office is the only office tosuccessfully roll out a cooperativeBancassurance model in Saurashtra. Ithas networked with multiple cooperativebanks to ensure intensiveretail penetration.Rajkot's retail business which accountsto more than 80% in its entire book ofbusiness is due to the office'sexceptional service support. Policygeneration is governed by Six Sigmaprocesses and as such TAT (turnaround time) is not more than 1.5 daysfor any document. The team hasdivided work amongst themselves interms of area. Each member of theMarketing team has a fixed area ofservice under him/ her which he/shevisits. No business relationship isstruck unless processes are setbeforehand. All requisites like policyissuance, claims service, accounting,after sales service, etc. are clearlydivided and each team member has roleclarity.Rajkot office's success lies in sheerdedication and hard work which theentire team has put in over the past 2years. From being labeled as a "Underperforming office" in 2003 to featuringin the top 3 offices of Bajaj Allianztoday, Rajkot office has come a longway in terms of experience, learningand setting benchmarks in doing retailbusiness.Allianz CupSignature CampaignAllianz was the title sponsor for the recentIndia-Pakistan Test series. In India, acampaign intended to collect a wealth ofsignatures from the public containingmessages of support and good luck, forthe Indian team was initiated by BajajAllianz General Insurance. The signaturecampaign was launched acrossnationwide.The Chief Ministers of Gujarat Mr.Narendra Modi (Pic 1) , Ms. VasundhraRaje of Rajasthan, Dr Raman Singh ofChattisgarh, Mr. Oommen Chandy (Pic 2)of Kerala kicked off the campaigns in theirrespective states. Top industrialists likeour Chairman, Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Mr.Anjum Bhilakia-MD of Micro Ink, Mr.Jawaharlal Oswal of Oswal Woolen mills,Mr. Ashok Oswal of Vardhman Polytexand Sportsmen like Kapil Dev, AjayJadeja, Parthiv Patel, Milkha Singh, allparticipated in this campaign. In additionto this people from the Chambers ofCommerce, our clients, Bancassurancechannel partners wholeheartedlyparticipated in the campaign.A similar campaign was carried out byAllianz in Pakistan and all the signaturesfrom various cities were woven togetherto be displayed in the stadium on the firstday of the first test match. Captains of thetwo teams exchanged replicas of thesignatures at the time of unveiling thetrophy (Pic 3).123Newstrack March 200619

Another Year, Another Milestone.....