Insurance is not yet a commonplace thing in Dhaka. There are many challenges impeding the progress of the industry. Some of them are pretty obvious such as lack of awareness and lack of public education and trust. Some are less evident but more critical such as the difficulties that customers face availing an insurance policy due to distribution challenges on the part of insurance providers. The consequence is pretty evident. The sector has suffered a sluggish growth compared to its sibling industry banking.
Take for an example, Green Delta Insurance, the leading non-life insurance company of the country, offers an insurance policy called PPA, People’s Personal Accident Policy, which provides a yearly coverage of up to BDT 1 lakh for a one time premium of only BDT 74 - a minuscule sum for almost anyone.
The benefits compared to the premium is certainly worth it. However, two things have happened: first, most people don’t know about PPA and how it works and second, many assume it takes significant effort to take a PPA policy. You have to go to a Green Delta Insurance office if there is one nearby or an agent to buy one along with lengthy paperwork. Going through this process is a hassle. Finding and buying an insurance policy is not a great experience for most people yet.
That scenario, however, is changing fast.
Companies like Green Delta and a handful of other players are pushing forward and introducing new innovative products, ideas, and experiments.
Green Delta Digital Insurance is one such innovation that can prove to be a game changer for the industry. Think about buying insurance from sitting at your home or anywhere for that matter. Green Delta Digital Insurance enables that. With the product, Green Delta Insurance Company aims to make buying insurance as simple as a few clicks on your mobile phone or computer. In short, this is a cool product. If you consider the existing insurance buying experience, it is a godsend. More on that in a moment. Before that, let’s take a look into the insurance industry in Dhaka.
Bangladesh Insurance Industry is a largely untapped market. There are about 66 insurance companies operating in the life and non-life category. The combined market penetration is less than 1%. This is significantly low compared to our neighboring countries. However, this scenario is likely to change in the near future.
Bangladesh has a growing middle-income population. The current per capita income is USD 1751. Just a few years ago, it was a minuscule sum. Various predictions say it could touch USD $2000 by 2020. This year will be the eighth straight year in a row that Bangladesh’s GDP has exceeded 6%+ growth. As the awareness grows and the disposable income of people grows, insurance will be a sought-after product in Bangladesh.
Green Delta Insurance Company and the quest to simplify insurance
People face two major challenges when it comes to taking insurance – 1) a lack of understanding - people don’t understand what is what, 2) as we discussed earlier, buying insurance is still time-consuming and not a good experience for most people.
Proper digitization would help address these two challenges. And this is where Green Delta Digital Insurance comes in. It effectively makes buying insurance frictionless and an experience that people would find worth enduring.
Green Delta Insurance officially launched Digital Insurance on 13th September 2018. A first of its kind insurance product in Bangladesh, it aims to offer a seamless insurance experience to customers. It has invested heavily in internal infrastructure and technology stake to ensure an excellent user experience.
Green Delta Insurance customers can buy insurance policies, for now, Travel, Motor and Personal Accident Policy, digitally from the comfort of their home or anywhere in the world as well make premium payment digitally.
The way the entire process works is intuitive and simple. You got to Green Delta Insurance website, select an insurance policy, fill-up necessary forms and make the payment in the checkout using your card or any digital payment tool. Once you are done with making the payment, you will immediately receive your insurance via email and as well as in printed copy after a few days.
Bangladesh has seen unprecedented growth in mobile phone and internet penetration. There are more than 80 million internet users and around 10 million smartphone users. These trends will fundamentally shape the future of many industries and insurance is one of them. Digital Insurance from Green Delta is likely to change how we buy and insure in Bangladesh.
This is the first time any Bangladeshi Insurance company has taken insurance to the digital horizon. Green Delta has been working on digital insurance initiatives for a while now. The organization sees a huge opportunity in the digital insurance space to serve a growing young consumer base better.
Green Delta Insurance Company Limited’s Additional Managing Director and Company Secretary, Syed Moinuddin Ahmed, said in an interview with Future Startup that Green Delta Insurance Company aims to lead the digital insurance movement in the country. “In my opinion, technology and the young generation are two important forces that will drive insurance businesses in the coming days,” Mr. Ahmed said. “At Green Delta, we are paying a lot of attention to these two factors. In order to address this new reality, we have to upgrade our infrastructure and make our services technologically up-to-date so that it matches the expectations of the future generation.”
Green Delta Digital Insurance makes it easy for anyone to buy insurance from anywhere. It fixes one of the critical barriers to access insurance. Today, if you want to buy your travel insurance in the last minute, you can simply go to Green Delta Insurance website sitting in the airport and buy one and get your insurance documents in your email with a few clicks.
Green Delta continues to work on improving its digital insurance products. Along with a seamless and secure experience, it now offers various cashback deals in partnership with a host of digital payment partners. Green Delta says they want to do more in the horizon of digital insurance, including digitizing claim settlement and are relentlessly working on making lives of their customers easier. With Green Delta Digital Insurance, buying an insurance policy has never been easier.
Green Delta Digital Insurance: Your insurance for travel, motor, fire, health, all risk, and people’s personal accident insurance, are just one click away. Learn more about Green Delta Digital Insurance here.
(This story was developed by Storylab, Future Startup’s in-house branded content studio, in collaboration with Green Delta Insurance Company marketing team.)
