Bajaj Allianz launches awareness drive

The month-long campaign will include insurance literacy drives at various schools and colleges in cities such as Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata.

Though India has the second largest population in the world, it is abysmally low in penetration of insurance. The total insurance penetration in India is at 4 per cent (life and non-life), less than the world average of 6.5 per cent.

To counter this, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched a month-long insurance awareness campaign titled 'Demystify Insurance'. The campaign was launched on April 19, a day that has been declared as 'Insurance Awareness Day' by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

IRDA had earmarked April 19 as Insurance Day, since it is the day of formation of the sector regulator. It had meetings with companies and intermediaries in Hyderabad to use all channels to propagate the message of insurance. IRDA officials said the agency would partner with organisations through its Bima Bemisaal campaign to drive home the importance of insurance among the masses.

As a part of the IRDA initiative, Bajaj Allianz's month-long campaign will include insurance literacy drives at various schools and colleges in cities such as Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata. Bajaj Allianz employees will give a brief interactive presentation to students, educating them on the importance of insurance.

The company will educate and interact with fans and followers on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with activities planned around the theme. Through this campaign, Bajaj Allianz aims at educating students in the age group of 15-21 years.

Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, says, "Low insurance penetration remains a challenge for all the companies in the industry. Insurance is still largely perceived as a tax saving instrument, whereas the benefits go much beyond. We realised that there is a visible need for insurance education in the country and launched this campaign which will be aimed at fostering insurance literacy in India."

As a part of the campaign, the company has been conducting a series of Google+ Hangout sessions which have an expert panel and consumers talk to each other and pose questions on the subject of insurance. The company has already conducted two Hangout sessions - one on motor insurance and the other seeking suggestions from customers on ways to enhance its services for them. It has scheduled a Google+ Hangout on Health Insurance on April 26 at 12 pm.

Speaking on choosing the specific TG, Singhel adds, "Children today are exposed to an array of information. However, as adults we tend to restrict their involvement in financial education. As insurers we haven't made an effort to reach out to them and explain the concept of insurance. All the educational material available is very technical and not appealing to their age-group. We want to change this and inculcate a culture of insurance awareness in their minds at an early age. 'Demystify Insurance' will have a different approach to insurance awareness for these children. Educating children about insurance much before they attain financial independence will give them an informed preparedness for their future."

The company has been engaging with its core TG through digital. In March 2014, Bajaj Allianz had come up with a campaign that aimed to bring a change in the auto suggestions on a search engine and thus change perceptions of people. The campaign was a part of its initiative called Jiyo Befikar Women, which was launched in 2011 with an intention to highlight and reward accomplishments by women from various fields.