Indians are more savers than investors; don’t plan for risks: Sapna Desai

Cigna TTK Health Insurance, a joint venture between US-based global health service leader Cigna Corporation and Indian conglomerate TTK Group, is seeking ways to break the indifference concerning health insurance. Health Insurance category in our country faces two major barriers a) Health Insurance is considered relevant only when one is sick and b) Insurance = ‘Life’ Insurance. Cigna TTK’s strategy was to break this inertia. Cigna TTK has strategized and executed several marketing campaigns along with key consumer outreach initiatives to create awareness about the importance of health insurance and educate consumers.

Cigna TTK Health Insurance aims to be at the helm of promoting ‘Staying and being healthy’. The company is working hard in spreading the message that while life insurance is important, one should not ignore the importance of health insurance as well. Cigna TTK offers differentiated health insurance solutions, including health and wellness programmes that support customers in making lifestyle changes and managing chronic medical conditions.

In conversation with Adgully, Sapna Desai, Head - Marketing and Communication, Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Ltd, speaks at length about the latest developments in the health insurance sector, the challenges and opportunities, marketing ‘health insurance’ in a digital era, government policies and more. Desai has been associated with Cigna TTK since 2013, while the company was officially launched in India in 2014. Excerpts:

What have been the key points in Cigna TTK’s journey in India so far?

Health insurance is still a new category in India, and as a brand, we needed to inform, educate, and reward and then differentiate. We did this through two campaigns that highlighted the role health insurance ought to play in your life. At Cigna TTK we believe in partnering our customers in wellness and illness. This is quite a unique perspective and offers myriad opportunities to create that special ‘aha’ moment in consumer mind-space, standing us apart from the rest. We offer a unique online wellness program to all our customers. This ProActiv Living Program is aimed at giving our customers targeted programs for their unique health needs. Sleep management, stress management, nutrition are some of the programs offered.

In my experience with this sector, I think what has worked for me is that I have had experience in my time in Ogilvy before this as a planner and worked across various categories – from FMCG to Durables. Health Insurance requires fresh infusion of minds that can help bring the much needed change and have a positive impact on customer experience and on communication. At Cigna TTK, we focused on creating a visual identity and language that is differentiated. We have worked on elements such as iconography and walked the unconventional path. Today, our brand awareness scores are double from the time we started. In 2014 our brand awareness was around 10 per cent, today we are at around 25 per cent as per an IPSOS study that Cigna conducts globally.  

Our market share in the General Insurance category is around 0.77 per cent and within the standalone health insurance industry we are 4 per cent. Our growth rate has been the highest in this sector. We have grown at 55 per cent as on March 2017, when the health insurance category is growing at around 30 per cent.

What are your insights into the insurance sector in India?

People in India are more savers than investors. They don’t invest in risk and hence, they don’t plan for risk. However, buying a product that actually covers one for risk is a concept that is changing but this trend is more evolved in other countries. Some myths still exist.  People think that when they are young and healthy they don’t need health insurance. Also, people think that taking a health insurance policy is a waste of money because it was unused because they were hale and hearty.

What have been your key challenges in this business?

Our goal has been to build a profitable business and this is challenging. In this journey, customer segmentation becomes very important. Health insurance penetration is very low i.e. 2 per cent to 3 per cent Life insurance, on the other hand, has moved to 10-15 per cent. The life insurance customers understand the concept of insurance. So, we decided to target the people who have bought life insurance and asked them to also consider buying a health insurance. Our first set of advertisement films was based on this insight.

All our products and services have been designed to partner our customers in their health journey.We offer ‘Healthy Rewards’, under which if our customers stay healthy, they get a discount of 10 per cent on their next year’s premium. We also have an app – ‘Get Proactive’, where the intent is to partner people in staying healthy. We encourage people to go for tests, online counseling, pay attention to their diet and nutrition, etc.

How have you adopted to the changes in the insurance sector?

The advantage that we have here is that we are relatively new to the Indian market. Our products and services are very much in sync with the needs of the Indian consumer.  So we are not burdened with the age old thinking of products and services. Our offerings are truly cutting edge and we constantly endeavor to improve the experience of our customers.

Do youngsters understand the importance of health insurance?

The youngsters know how to search and get to the right policy by visiting websites like Policy Bazaar, where they compare the product, features, benefits, etc. But it is quite a task to get them to actually think about it. When we started off, we largely attracted the youth, maybe because of our proposition and communication.

What are the key markets for Cigna TTK?

We are now present at 6,000 points of sales across 41 cities. North is a significant contributor to our business, followed by West, South and East. We seem to be doing very well in the North and West. Newer brands seem to have a higher acceptance in the North in our experience.

While shifting to a different agency, are you trying to communicate differently to your consumers?

We have moved from TBWA to McCann. The change of agency was purely because of global alignment. TBWA was a great agency to work with and have been our partners in building the Cigna TTK brand. In a partnership, people bring different skills and so from the marketing end you will know what the company is doing and where you are going from a business point of view. The communication partner helps you in translating that into a consumer facing proposition.

What about your overall media plan?

We have had an multimedia approach, led by our objective and target audience. Our initial campaign was TV led to build reach. We have used Print, outdoor ,digital and radio to supplement the campaign.  Today we are more focused on radio and digital. Sports as a genre has worked well for us.We also do on-ground activations. We are the official health insurance sponsors of the key city marathons. As a part of this association we conduct local on-ground activations called the Treadmillion Challenge, where we have seen a huge participation. People are now becoming more health conscious and want to stay fit.

What is the growth target set for 2017?

The growth target remains at 30-40 per cent. We expect to break even in the next two years and we are planning in the same direction.

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