The Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh, AMP Sanmar’s brand ambassador, recently visited Sanmar’s corporate headquarters at Chennai. Here’s a brief account of the memorable visit. “Don’t give in to yourself,” Steve Waugh told a young audience when one of those present at the AMP Sanmar sponsored chat show at a Chennai hotel asked him how he should go about acquiring mental toughness.
To be mentally tough is to go out into the nets and play every ball on its merit, as if in a match situation, trying not to get out, and not yielding to the temptation to belt the ball around merrily. Mental toughness is all about working tirelessly on improving strengths and correcting faults, ball after ball, hour after hour. It is about working on one’s physical fitness or fielding ability, constantly looking to improve.
It is about eschewing the soft options and embracing the tough ones. Don’t give in to yourself! What a simple, elegant way of describing the arduous path to success! The Australian captain showed enough evidence of not only the steel that marked his approach to the game but also his ability to enjoy it, through the manner he fulfilled his obligations to the life insurance joint venture as its brand ambassador.
K S Narayanan welcoming Steve Waugh.
A traditional welcome for the Australian captain.
He took in his stride the packed programme AMP Sanmar had scheduled for him, and participated with a smile and concern for all those who had taken trouble to organize the events. The top management, and indeed everyone in the organisation—with whom Waugh took the trouble of shaking hands, cracking jokes and posing for photographs, group and individual—were convinced that in their brand ambassador they had indeed picked a winner. Both in Chennai and Mumbai, ‘Steve’—as he became known to one and all—was a huge hit with both the media and the public.
AMP Sanmar’s product launch in Chennai and business launch in Mumbai were every bit as good as a spectacular one-day start by Sachin Tendulkar or Adam Gilchrist. Not only did Steve reinforce the conviction that he is the best batsman in the world to play for your life, he also proved that he can be a great pinch hitter as well, constantly adapting to unforeseen demands on his time and rising to the occasion!
At the market for a TV commercial for AMP Sanmar.
At the rooftop of the Sanmar headquarters. L to R: S V Mony, CEO, AMP Sanmar, Tim Wade, MD-AMP International, N Kumar, Vice Chairman, the Sanmar group, Steve Waugh, Vijay Sankar and N Sankar.
Life insurance in India has undergone tremendous changes in the last two years after the government opened up the sector. What seemed unthinkable a decade ago has become a reality now: more than a dozen companies—many as joint ventures with the best known names globally—are vying with one another for the customer’s attention.
The opening up of the sector has provided the customers with choice, competitive pricing and world-class service. Several people had predicted a rapid decline of the state-owned entities while several others said they would change their ways and hold on their own. What does the scorecard look like now? A recent review disclosed that in 2001-02, all the private sector companies together had secured approximately 1.3 per cent of the total life insurance business.
This by itself may look modest. It is however, an encouraging performance because it is only a year since the new players have entered the field. Many had operated only for part of the year. Life insurance is retail in nature and growth comes slowly. It is still a face-to-face business based on individual contact, familiarity and comfort. The right kind of growth, not the aggressive one, is the preferred option.
Looking at other countries’ experience, it would remain so for quite a while. In fact, rapid growth creates problems with an impact on capital. Awareness of insurance is very low in India.
Life insurance penetration—the total annual premium income in the market as a percentage of the gross domestic product—is a low 1.3 in India while it is 7 in the United States and Britain. If we are able to raise this figure to three in five years, the annual premium would be Rs. 60,000 crore. Even modest percentages of market share would involve large volumes of premium, funds, investment and, in due course, distributable profits. Selection and training of agents are going to be an important differentiator between insurers. Casual appointment of a large number of agents has given way to increasingly careful selection with an eye on high retention rates.
The new players, including my company AMP Sanmar, are uncompromising on their quality parameters in their agents’ selection. The increased media attention and specialised reporting have also kept the companies on their toes. What does it mean to the customer? The market has already seen a variety of innovative products such as single premium, individual pension, equity-linked insurance, limited payment options and riders. Another significant change is in visibility: advertisements have made common man sit up and take notice of this emerging industry.
I do not recall a time when life insurance, or any form of insurance, received such attention. This should lead to more people buying many forms of insurance, resulting in a high penetration level. The new companies have set fresh benchmarks for service in terms of time taken to issue policies, respond to queries and settle claims.
They also have higher limits for policies that will be accepted without medical examination. The sector has transformed itself from one of total non-communication to one of total communication. For the first time in decades, the customer has become the centre of attention. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has taken steps to protect investors’ rights.
The policyholder has now the right to review within 15 days the decision to buy a policy. There are regulations that monitor advertisements, marketing and agents’ material. These steps will ensure that the customer is not made to buy products on wrong or false promises or information. The quality of information given to customers has risen manifold thanks to the high standards set by the new entrants. Attractive brochures in simple language and clearly worded policies and promotional material are now made available to the customer. In conclusion, customers are sure to see a more professional intermediary force in the future.
They will also get an excellent opportunity in terms of offers, choices and prices. An article by S V Mony, Chief Executive Officer, AMP Sanmar, reproduced from ‘The Week’ dated August 25, 2002.