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BK Modi-promoted Spice Group's e-commerce arm Saholic.com is offering one-year worldwide theft insurance for mobile handsets it sells in a bid to boost sales.
"Theft of mobile handsets is increasing at a rapid pace. But getting insurance for high-value handsets directly from insurance companies is a hassle. We have made it hassle-free," said Rajneesh Arora, chief executive officer of Saholic.com.
"At the time of buying the handset, the customer would be given an option to pay 1.5 per cent of the handset cost extra as premium for the theft insurance," he added. New India Assurance is the insurance provider.
During the trial, the company has recorded that more than 35 per cent of the handset buyers are buying the insurance at the time of purchase, Arora added.
Going forward, Saholic.com, which started operations in May 2011, will extend theft insurance to other mobility products that the company sells through the e-commerce portal. It sells mobile handsets, tablets, laptops, accessories and cameras. About 70 per cent of its revenue comes from mobile handset sales.
"We also have plans to introduce insurance for damage of mobility products sold through our e-commerce portal," Arora said, adding it would be introduced in the next four to eight weeks.
The company has plans to espand operations in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, where Spice Group already has a presence in mobile handset retailing. "This would take some time," Arora said. In India, it will focus on tier-II and tier-III markets over the next few years.
