| |December 20178CIOReviewENABLING PERSONALIZED SOLUTIONS IN INSURANCE SECTOR WITH TECHNOLOGYBy Shalabh Saxena, Chief Operating Officer, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance CompanyIN MY OPINIONechnology as a `driver of growth' is un-disputable. All future initiatives focusing on operational efficiency and seamless processing will ride on the `Technology wave'. Given this non-negotiable posi-tion, it is imperative that organizations place technology risk management at the top of the cor-porate agenda. The insurance industry is adapting itself to this changing market dynamics. `Digital threats' like virus, ransomware etc are a reality and it is a global phe-nomenon. At an enterprise level, insurance companies have large data, it is critical that due care is taken at the design stage to arrest possible breaches. "Prevention is better than cure" and that applies perfectly to the current technology ecosystem & the associated risks. Hence-forth, technology will remain the pivot of growth across Industries. We have to adapt ourselves to ensure that the various risks associated are mitigated as technology eliminates/reduces layers. This is the biggest plus that ac-crues for an enterprise as it enables customer reach with minimum interfaces (hence direct & effective communi-cation). Technology enhances availability and reach to the customers. It also gives an opportunity to the insurer to refine and sharpen the solution effectively customiz-ing the offering and pre-empting the customer need. Redefining Insurance industryInsurance industry has been slightly slow to get off the blocks but is fast catching up. This has been facilitated by the evolving macro environment that the country has presented over the past few years. Increased inter-net penetration, billion mobile connections, and smart phone users by 2020, all point to a very promising fu-ture when it comes to insurance. There are 3 areas that I feel will be substantially en-hanced through technology in the coming years ­(1) Seamless Sales process: Availability of customer data through UIDAI/Aadhar e-KYC assists in reducing documentation while still not compromising the secu-rity/validation aspect is a big win. Apart from this, with digital payment solutions being promoted across the country (mobile wallets, debit/credit card penetration, UPI led options etc), the sales process becomes seamless as that was one of the stages where the process used to break/halt. In my view, these two elements looked at in TShalabh has a strong retail financial experience of 22+ years in Consumer Banking & Life Insurance Industry. The exposure spans across Sales, Marketing, Customer Retention, Persistency Management, Digital Transformation, Strategy, Relationship Management, Partnerships & Alliances, Sales Support, Business Planning, Customer Engagement, Customer Service and Operations.
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