Aditya Birla Health hopes to grow in a similar trajectory as of last fiscal : CEO

The premium income growth for standalone health insurance segment was 27.45 per cent in 2019-20, according to the Irdai data. Bhatwal said it will focus on the Arogya Sanjeevani health insurance product, that was launched in April this year, to tap new customers.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance is hopeful of maintaining its growth trajectory in this fiscal on the back of access to a large customer base and good traction in digital sales amidst the coronavirus pandemic, its Chief Executive Officer Mayank Bathwal said. The company posted a 76 per cent growth in 2019-20 while the premium income rose by 70 per cent in the first two months of the current fiscal, Bathwal said in an interview.

"After having adjusted to the COVID situation and to ensure that we are able to work remotely while work from home, clearly there is a very positive awareness in people for health insurance. Customers are now more willing to (make a) contract for insurance than earlier. "I think we have the right kind of offering with very large distribution channel such as banks, brokers and agents," he told PTI.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance has grown at about 70 per cent in the first two months (April-May) of the lockdown restrictions, which is higher than the industry growth, he said. The pure-play health insurance provider had registered a 66 per cent growth in business in April and a 72 per cent rise in May.

"There is a big demand for health insurance and we would like to stay ahead like we have been in the first two months," he added. On the other hand, the growth of the standalone health insurance segment was 7 per cent in April and 2 per cent in May, according to the data provided by Aditya Birla Health Insurance. Talking about the demand for health insurance products, he said if one is able to reach out to customers then they are buying, adding company's already large presence through digital means has helped it garner more customer during this period.

"We were pretty large in tele-based selling because of our banking partners and partnership with Bajaj Finance. Even in the normal course, our agents were selling through our App. We have got about 25,000 plus agents, we work with all brokers and most importantly we work with nine banks including the largest private sector HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. So this gives us very large access to customers across the country," Bhatwal said. These are among the reasons, along with the brand name, that has helped the company to do much better than the market, he added.

"Last year we grew at 76 per cent, the fastest growing health insurer. We have outgrown the industry and I don't see this year why can't we sustain that," he replied on asked about the expected performance in the current fiscal year. The premium income growth for standalone health insurance segment was 27.45 per cent in 2019-20, according to the Irdai data.

Bhatwal said it will focus on the Arogya Sanjeevani health insurance product, that was launched in April this year, to tap new customers. It is a standard product, launched under instruction from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) which provides a basic health insurance cover between Rs 3-5 lakh.

"I think Arogya Sanjeevani is a good product as it is affordable. We are looking at that also as a big segment, especially in tier 2 and 3 towns where the awareness of insurance may not be enough. So there, it will work well. I think it will do well in times ahead as it is meant for a particular segment," Bhatwal added. A subsidiary of the Aditya Birla group's financial services arm Aditya Birla Capital, the insurance company is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and MMI Holdings of South Africa..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)