Insurance firm eyes Punjab's rural areas

The rural folk of Punjab and Haryana will soon get to know more about insurance covers and get the benefits of general insurance.

IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Ltd has set its eyes on the rural and semi-urban markets of this region. These regions are till date virgin markets, and the firm is keep to expand its base in the regions.

The company had the national launch of its 'Bima Kendra' under the 'Cooperative Model' in Rajpura today. The interested candidates associated with the cooperative movement in villages would be picked up by the company and would be trained as insurance agent.

Talking to Business Standard, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IFFCO-Tokio Ajit Narain said that about 70% of our population lives in rural and semi urban areas and it is important to penetrate in to that segment. He told that agents based in urban areas were not keen to work in interior so the company decided to develop the model where the local people will be trained to do the insurance business in rural pockets.

He informed that in a week's time eight Bima Centres will be opened in Punjab where 200 trained persons will report.

According to Narain the company would leverage upon the presence of IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertilisers Co-operative Limited) and the faith of the farming community in IFFCO to create a distribution channel and spread about the essential need of general insurance among the rural masses.

The company would also seek assistance of state government machinery about the cooperatives working in the region. This would help them identify the potential candidates as agents, he said.

The company intends to roll out the Co-operative model in Haryana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh in a sequence.

"The aim would be to offer a package insurance in the rural areas. This would be a viable option as villagers do not accumulate valuables in large numbers. Package insurance would be financially viable for us", he added.

The model will create employment opportunities for the people close to their habitat and help in containing migration towards towns. Depending upon the potential of the area an agent can earn between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh per annum.

According to Narain, they do not expect any return in the first three years. Once the network is complete the company projects respectable returns from rural pockets.