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The year 2000 witnessed the coming of age of the Indian IT multinationals & BPO with the traditionally India-centric, indigenous players beginning to build noticeable presence in other locations – through cross border acquisitions, onshore contract wins and organic growth in other low-cost locations. This was complemented by global majors continuing to significantly ramp-up their offshore delivery capabilities –predominantly in India; highlighting India’s increasingly important role in the new world outsourcing order.
The above has resulted in spiraling number of Indians staying & traveling abroad on projects, trainings & meetings on short & long periods.
Previously, the awareness for travel insurance was very limited; buying travel insurance was left to management to buy cover on a need basis for visa applications. Travel insurance was available in the market only as a packaged trip/age rated product sold by the agents of the local insurance companies.
TATA AIG Proposition:
Tata AIG Identified this niche market of travelers and their needs. The product offer was builtaround inconvenience benefits such as trip cancellation and loss of travel documents that any employee may have the need for while on a business trip overseas. The pricing was changed to per-day rating to transform the policy structure to “pay-per-use,” unlike existing plans which charged for pre-fixed trip periods, irrespective of actual travel duration.
This change was accompanied by the introduction of Waats to manage the certificate issuance process all the way to the desk of the employer.
The product offering, easy issuance process and rating philosophy soon started to capture employers’ interest.
Distribution:
The identified opportunity was a target base of over 500 corporations that would immediately qualify for the product proposition. However, distribution would be key to success going forward. The first step of breaking the ice was taken up by the PC sales staff in the branches who reached out to key identified prospects and signed up over 20 accounts in the first three months of the product launch.
Following the product’s initial success, a rapid expansion strategy was devised. The agency channel, which was building a strong agent base at the time, offered the right platform for deployment to corporate market. Key agents who would have the capability to promote this product were carefully selected from the agent base. Continuous training sessions and joint calling in the initial phase increased the strength of the salesforce.
In the project’s first year, TATA AIG sold $ 1 mn in GPW for Business Travel. This business, now in its fourth year, has assumed a considerable size and is contributing substantially to the bottom line. The outlook for 2006 is estimated at $ 4.5 ml, 400% growth over the business written in the first year.
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Issue 1 | September 2006