LEADING BRANDS PROFILE
Continental Insurance
Q: How has your organisation navigated the pandemic?
A: Our initial concerns were to ensure continual operations and not let our customers be without cover or claims settlements. Our prior and ongoing investments in digitisation paid off while increased customer adoption of digital transactions also helped.
Extensive measures were taken to guarantee that there were no compromises in customer communications: call centres operated at full capacity via a residential team in the office. The company’s IT strategy for its hybrid work model during the pandemic was recognised as one of the best approaches at the Economic Times of India tech forum.
We extended credit to our customers beyond the regulator requirement; and on many occasions, provided COVID-19 cover for already-sold health insurance policies.
Keeping the team engaged while working from home and staff welfare were prioritised. Continental Insurance retained all staff with regular pay and benefits in the past two years.
The plunging economy and tightening of the motor insurance market due to vehicle import restrictions impacted the insurance sector.
We were successful because of our speed of adoption, uncompromising portfolio quality despite intense competition, and financial discipline and resilience – and we were rewarded by having our rating upgraded to ‘A+ (lka)’ by Fitch Ratings in January 2022.
Q: Could you brief us on the brand’s history and strengths?
A: Continental Insurance is a young company of just over 10 years, compared to most in the field. Our strategy was built around the following pillars – viz. quality portfolio growth; investment in technology and people; service excellence; and productivity improvement.
Speed and quality of service are most valued, which we strive to achieve so as to stand out among the competition.
As an insurer, we should ensure our customers that we’re financially sound and can withstand shocks by taking a longer-term view to forego immediate benefits that could affect sustainability.
The pandemic gave us an opportunity to demonstrate our resilience and strength. Our total assets surpassed Rs. 7 billion in 2021; our capital adequacy ratio stood strong at 296 percent at the end of 2021 against a 120 percent regulatory threshold.
From a growth perspective, a slow economy and inflation could impact overall corporate growth. However, the pandemic has shaped customers to spend responsibly, prioritising products like insurance.
We are optimistic about the future of Continental Insurance as well as the insurance sector.
Q: Your assessment of the impact of the pandemic on brands is…?
A: The pandemic stress tested brands’ integrity. Brands with a high degree of flexibility and adaptability succeeded while others suffered. It also led to a global e-commerce boom, redefining how we connect with customers and preserve relationships with less human interaction.
Brand promises can stay the same but delivery to a large number of customers should to be reinvented. This is challenging but presents an opportunity for flexible organisations with empathy for their customers.
Q: And how can brand loyalty be built through experiences?
A: We invest heavily to make our process leaner, faster and easier for customers, taking a segmented approach in creating customer experiences.
By creating a culture through training and communication, we ensure that our staff shows empathy and flexibility towards customers who turn to us during difficult times.
We have defined service quality standards at various touchpoints throughout the client journey, and measure customer experience in terms of service standards, satisfaction survey results, customer drop out ratios and so on.
In addition, we greatly increased client communications and expanded the scope of our customer satisfaction surveys last year. A customer relationship management scorecard will be trialled this year.
Q: What is the impact of branding on financial performance?
A: Non-life insurance products are short term by nature; and in times like these, building long-term relationships with customers is the way forward for sustainable growth.
Today, customers have ceaseless access to information and choices; therefore, companies should offer tangible experiences that distinguish them from the competition to create loyalty.
Continental Insurance’s strategy has always been to uphold the underwriting quality regardless of competition; and invest in branding is one way we get the right type of customers coming to us.
