Insurance Ads: Transcending Stereotypes!

Are insurance ads truly changing from being purveyors of death and destruction?

Once upon a time, Indians were put off by insurance advertising, as gloomy visuals reminded them of the impending demise or accident of their loved ones. Those who did, insured themselves as a ‘savings’ mechanism, which would either help them in their old age or provide for the family in case of their untimely demise. The insurance agents were the perceived Yamdoots and life insurance policies, gloomy prophecies.

Cut to 2006 and the insurance scenario in the country is anything but gloomy. Marked by the entry of private players’ post-2000, India’s insurance industry has moved into exciting and thrilling times. From being a state-owned white elephant, the insurance sector in the country now accounts for 10-15% of India’s total financial sector, where over a dozen Life Insurance and Non-Life Insurance Companies are fighting it out to woo the consumer. The opening up of the sector has lured many a foreign players into the market like Sun Life (Canada), Old Mutual (S. Africa), Prudential (UK), New York Life (USA) and others. The carrot of course, is the huge potential that the sector holds: Before 1991, life insurance penetration in India was less than 1%; during the 90s it was between 1-2%, while in 2003-04 (the last available figures), insurance penetration had crossed 2.4%. Apply that to a country of over a billion people and you realise why global players are eyeing India.

This untapped potential is pushing insurance majors think of innovative ways to rope in more customers. This wooing is eminently visible in the evolving advertising and branding strategies of insurance majors. Gone are the dull days of drab ads, when promising a secure life for the policy holders’ family after his/her demise was a successful formula for insurance