With the advent of mobile technology, market players are all set to join the bandwagon to make use of this technology to capture the market. Currently, the financial services industry is eagerly looking forward to refurbishing its lost potential by going mobile. The most recent initiative in this regard has been by Max New York Life Insurance, that has taken the initiative to introduce the concept of pre-paid insurance cards to the people at large.
The company has roped in the leading technical service provider IBM to make this plan turn into a successful one. It will be for the first time that the company will be issuing insurance contracts issued on the spot through hand-held thermal printers connecting to the back-end support via a cellphone network. This distribution strategy adopted by Max is similar to the one adopted by mobile industry for providing talktime to consumers.
The company plans to stock retail stores in small cities and semi-urban areas with start-up packages ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,500. This offer comes in three denominations and offers five times the sum insured. The money can also be topped up or withdrawn. However, there is a lock-in period of three years for withdrawal. The subsequent top-ups will be as low as Rs.10. It is assured that the earnings of the policyholders are going to improve. In my viewpoint, such strategies can pave the way for the Indian Insurance market to clinch a name for itself globally and Max has become a dominant player which has taken the correct initiative to hit the bull's eye. However, it is going to be an extremely hard process in totality to convince the ever-skeptical Indian audience to purchase something as serious as an insurance policy over the counter of your neighborhood retail shop. Maybe some support from the government would also be required to make this project a success.
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