Heʼs a veteran of the Insurance Broking Industry in India. Heʼs worked with the top management of worldʼs leading insurance broking companies namely Jardine Llyod Thompson, Marsh & Willis Towers Watson. He brings in more than 25 Years of rich Insurance broking & consulting experience that transcends Indian boundaries, across diversified industries & domain – we extend our gratitude to Rajiv Agarwal, Chief Mentor | Integrated Risk, for sharing his ideologies, thoughts & valuable insights on the Mudra-Integrated association.

Licensed by IRDA in Jan 2004, Integrated Risk Insurance Brokers Ltd. is one of Indiaʼs leading distributors of diversified insurance products and services. Integrated specializes in Risk Management, Claims Consultancy, Product Development & Positioning across Retail & Wholesale Business.

Here are the excerpts from our conversation with Rajiv

“You can increase the risk-taking appetite of an individual simply by mitigating their existing risks. Fortunately, (not sure if ‘unʼ may be perceived as ‘punʼ) the pandemic phase has been the all-time greatest marketing campaign for the insurance sector. The awareness amongst the individuals for Health & Life Insurance has been phenomenal. The Insurance penetration is set to increase multifold with due credit to the regulator, IRDA which encourages product innovation, the regulatory sandbox which creates a conducive environment for implementation of innovative ideas with flexibility in dealing with regulatory requirements has been boon to the entire insurance sector. Also, our Hon. Prime Minister is arguably the ‘messiah of the Insurance Sectorʼ. Since 2014, we have noticed immense momentum in the insurance sector with initiatives like PM Jan-Dhan Yojana, PM Suraksha Bima Yojana, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Yojana etc. This has certainly paved ways for the overall inclusive growth of the insurance business in India.”

“We are extremely grateful and bullish about our association with Mudra co-operative credit society ltd. Our mindsets, thoughts & ideologies are aligned. The leadership team at Mudra is highly competent, immensely experienced and believes in new-age banking phenomena with emphasis on state-of-the-art technology.

Together, we are trying to create a niche amongst the customers of Mudra to give them greater financial flexibility by offering them a comprehensive solution on their deposits. For e.g., our Mudra Care 2x offers complimentary indemnity on the loss of pay due to accident, hospitalization cover, disability & death cover etc. We have empanelled ICICI Lombard GIC, Indiaʼs Largest private sector general insurance company for this product. ICICI Lombard brings operational excellence, un-paralleled service standards & faster claim settlement for the depositors in case of any untoward incident” He further added “Our aim is to expand our association with Mudra by offering value-based solutions to the Urban & Semi-urban segment. It requires immense technological advancement with human intervention. We call it a PHYGITAL Model (physical plus digital). I strongly believe, Education is the only investment which offers guaranteed Returns. Taking inspiration from our Hon. PMʼs Digital India & Skill India Initiative, In the first phase, we intend to provide skill-based insurance training with reference to the IRDA guidelines, to about 1000+ individuals and create a competent workforce of PoSPʼs (Point of Sales Persons). These PoSPʼs shall be trained to sell pre-underwritten products across Health, Motor, Accident, Life & Travel Insurance through our online and offline channels. Our endeavour is to create an ecosystem of trained professionals in the Insurance sector who shall be our extended arms in increasing the insurance penetration, thus making a sustainable livelihood for themselves. This is our contribution to the inclusive growth and economic revival. We call this our journey of a thousand sMILES. Our Phase-I is expected to be rolled out in the first week of December 2020.

“Fundamentally, Banking & Insurance go hand-in-glove. Needless to say- The largest private insurers are incubated and managed by the top banks. It is lender vs contingent lender philosophy. A fairly large balance sheet of the insurers can provide sustainable support to the financial market. We believe the Indian insurance regulator has done a remarkable job in managing the interest of the policyholders. The regulators can explore the opportunities to reward the Insurers with the flexibility of Investment options for consistently maintaining the desired solvency ratios. Also, the Bancassurance channel is time-tested and has consistently delivered a significant contribution to the premiums of the Insurance companies. product innovations, robust online & offline distribution channels and efficiency in service delivery is the way forward.”