Policybazaar backs IRDAI’s proposed reforms, says it already delivers on them
Policybazaar says the proposed IRDAI reforms reflect principles it already follows, highlighting its existing approach to insurance distribution and customer services.
Policybazaar backs IRDAI’s proposed distribution reforms, saying its existing business practices already align with the regulator’s objectives.
NEW DELHI, Policybazaar: As the insurance regulator’s consultation paper on distribution payouts hangs over the sector, PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, is not arguing against the goals of the draft. It is arguing that it already meets them.
Speaking on the earnings call of the quarter ended September, Chairman and Group CEO Yashish Dahiya said the paper’s aims of lower mis-selling, better claims experience, lower prices and deeper penetration are the ones Policybazaar was built on. “We absolutely support all of these goals fully,” he said, recalling that the company’s first campaign in 2009, “Ullu Mat Bano,” was aimed at mis-selling.
He conceded the commercial hit. “Lower distribution payouts will reduce our insurance distribution revenue, for sure,” Dahiya said. But he put the company’s record on the table, point by point, against the four outcomes the regulator itself lays out.
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Claims. Dahiya said 97% of health claims by Policybazaar customers are settled, against an industry figure of 87%. Last year, 11,156 initially rejected claims worth ₹185 crore were reopened and paid. In the first half of this year, the company supported about 1.25 lakh health claims and 80,000 motor claims. “The customer gets nothing on the day he buys it,” he said. “The real test comes at claims.”
Persistency. According to the company, 71% of its life policies are still in force at month 61, against a benchmark of 51% to 66% for large players. Health renewal stands at 89%, rising to 91% from the second-year renewals onwards.
Mis-selling. Policybazaar reports 16 life insurance complaints per 10,000 customers, against a benchmark of 30 to 53, and 21 health claims complaints per 10,000 claims, against 29 to 54.
Price and reach. Dahiya said health customers pay 9% less on average, and up to 30% less than some other channels, for the plans they choose. About 40% of new retail health customers across the country come through the platform, and 74% of its term policies and 64% of its health policies come from tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
The argument is strategic as much as defensive. Dahiya pointed to the paper’s own language, which speaks of paying for outcomes. Policybazaar, he said, thinks about its insurer partners’ combined operating ratios and starts its reviews with claims ratios, not sales growth.
The numbers arrive at a strong moment. Total insurance premium rose 38% year-on-year to ₹9,385 crore in the quarter, consolidated operating revenue grew 35% to ₹2,178 crore, and profit after tax rose 43% to ₹192 crore.
Management said it will not trade away the customer experience to protect margins. “Choice, transparency, and claim support remain non-negotiable,” Dahiya said, adding, “We will not cut back on the customer proposition, not one step back on that.” He cited maternity cover, on which the company earns “zero commission on day one,” as a proposition it will keep. “Are we going to back off from that? No, of course not.”
He was careful to treat the paper as a draft. “This is a discussion paper,” he said, noting that more than 1,000 pieces of feedback have already reached the regulator. The company has engaged constructively and will implement the final framework “fully and in its spirit,” he said.
On the road ahead, the company is asking to be judged on outcomes and over time. “We are a part of the solution, and we will only grow stronger through this,” Dahiya said. The company’s stated approach for the next 1,000 days is simple: “We will serve customers well.”
