Technology enables insurers to offer modular & ‘pick-and-choose’ products: Nitin Mehta, Bharti AXA Life Insurance

Winning the trust of first-time insurance buyers in India is a challenge that goes far beyond offering a competitive premium. Today’s early-career professionals expect simplicity, speed, and transparency at every step from choosing a plan to renewing a policy or filing a claim. They are digital-first, budget-conscious, and accustomed to the seamless experiences offered by fintech apps and e-commerce platforms.

Nitin Mehta, Chief Distribution Officer – Partnership Distribution at Bharti AXA Life Insurance, shares how the company is reimagining insurance for this new generation. Through strategic partnerships with fintech players and online aggregators, a robust digital servicing platform, and AI-driven underwriting, Bharti AXA Life is making insurance products more accessible and affordable than ever. Add to this modular plan designs, instant policy loans, and influencer-led awareness campaigns, and it’s clear that the company’s approach is as much about building trust as it is about selling policies.

Digital platforms have significantly transformed how young families discover and purchase insurance. How has Bharti AXA Life Insurance leveraged mobile apps and online aggregators to enhance accessibility and engagement for early-career professionals?

We at Bharti AXA Life have embraced digital platforms to make insurance more accessible for early-career professionals and everyone. We have strategically leveraged mobile apps and online aggregators to enhance accessibility and engagement for this cohort by focusing on convenience, transparency, and a user-centric experience. We partnered with aggregators like Policy Bazaar fintechs like Airtel Payment Bank and also consumer digital platforms like Tata Digital to offer our products and services on their platforms extending our reach. We also have our own customer digital platform that gives the customer a 360-degree view of their portfolio with us along with 18 digital servicing options. Features like in-app notifications and alerts prevent policyholders from missing renewal dates, reminding them of fund values in their ULIP policies etc.

Micro-insurance products are gaining traction among price-sensitive segments. How is technology helping Bharti AXA Life design and deliver affordable, personalised plans that align with the needs of young professionals just starting their financial journeys? 

Technology enables insurers to offer modular and “pick-and-choose” insurance products. Instead of a rigid, one-size-fits-all policy, young professionals can select specific riders and benefits that align with their current needs and financial constraints. For example, they can start with a basic term life plan and add riders for critical illness or disability as their income and responsibilities grow. Our product offerings enable such flexible choices for customers and our technology platforms enable the customer to add such riders at any point in their policy term digitally as per their need and convenience. 

Could you share how Bharti AXA Life is utilising AI to assess risk more accurately and reduce costs, thereby making insurance more attractive to budget-conscious customers?  

We use AI enabled self-learning models to assess risk at the time of on-boarding which curates customer provided data as well as data from other sources like IIB, Crisil and many more. This helps us detect anomalies, fraud, early claim and/or renewal propensity enabling us to take more informed and efficient underwriting decisions. On-boarding reduced risky business reduces claim rate as well as early claims thereby improving reserve ratios and enabling us to do competitive pricing. This helps in offering attractive premium rates to today’s budget conscious customers.

How is Bharti AXA Life using digital marketing, social media, or influencer-led campaigns to educate and build trust with first-time insurance buyers?

We are leveraging social media and PR in building awareness and establishing the importance of life insurance. In the past, we have leveraged a key influencer and done a series of videos which provides step-by-step guidance on why one should consider investing in life insurance and demystifying the myths around it

With the growth of fintech and insurtech ecosystems, how is Bharti AXA collaborating with digital payment platforms or fintech players to offer flexible, seamless insurance experiences tailored to the financial behavior of young Indian families?  

We have partnered with multiple insurtech and fintech firms to offer very unique products and services offerings. We work with digital marketplaces like policy bazaar, fintech platforms like Airtel Payments Bank to offer our products and services through their platforms. We are also working with other digital platforms like Tata Digital to offer our products to all customers on their platform. Apart from this we continue to work on providing unique offerings on our own mobile platform – DigiServe. One of the most recent offerings rolled out on this platform is disbursal of loan against policy to customer’s bank account in less than 60 seconds for our policy holders with ZERO documentation.

In what ways has Bharti AXA Life responded to the post-COVID shift in customer expectations, especially in terms of digital onboarding, quick policy issuance, and claims processing?  

COVID has been a great catalyst for our digital transformation. Currently our digital presence and service capabilities have gone far beyond fulfilling just customer expectations. We have achieved 100% digital on-boarding in FY-24 with our straight through processing clocking ~60%. We deliver 93% of our customer servicing digitally and maintain a stellar claim settlement ratio of 99.18% with 48 hours fund value guarantee and one day settlement for eligible claims through our Claim Express Service. However, our digital footprint extends further and impacts other stakeholders like we are doing 100% digital seller on-boarding, faster digital weekly commission payout, on-boarding new partners in two weeks.

Looking ahead, what role do you see emerging technologies like blockchain or embedded insurance playing in further improving access and affordability for the next generation of insurance buyers in India?

Technologies like blockchain and embedded insurance are poised to play a transformative role in making insurance more accessible and affordable for India’s next generation of buyers. Blockchain brings in transparency that can help reduce fraudulent claims, which will contribute to better pricing thereby bringing down the premiums. It can gain greater confidence in the claims process, a significant concern for young consumers who distrust traditional financial institutions. However, the application has yet to pick up speed in India.

Embedded Insurance by offering a small, contextual policy at the moment of truth is a game-changer for a generation that values convenience and is often underinsured. This model removes the traditional need for a separate insurance agent or a lengthy application process. The insurance purchase is a frictionless, opt-in option that takes seconds, aligning perfectly with the digital-first habits of young buyers. It has the potential to really derive the value of insurance in India reaching the vast, underserved population in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities. By partnering with popular local platforms, from fintech apps to e-commerce sites, insurers can reach a wider audience and introduce them to the concept of insurance in a familiar and trusted environment.