Focus on Tier I and II cities as Reliance Life revamps distribution channel

Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), part of Reliance Capital Limited, today announced the launch of 'face-to-face' distribution channel to service its orphan customers and provide post-sales service to policyholders.

The new sales format focuses on Tier I and Tier II cities and leverages the talent pool amongst housewives in these locations to connect with the customers and support the company's existing distribution channels, the company said in a statement today.

These women advisors have completed their 30-day training programme at RLIC and have started developing relationship with customers and servicing policies, the company said.

Reliance Life Insurance, which has hired around 200 woman employee advisors in seven cities during the pilot phase, plans to ramp up the hiring across the country in the next few months.

Apart from providing post-sales services, these life planning officers (LPOs) would also collect information related to current policies for data purification and family information and details of life events to enrich their database and help customers in reviving lapsed policies.

''The main goal of this distribution format is to target existing customers who are currently not connected to any advisor and distributor. We hope this sales-cum-service initiative will not only help retain our existing customers but also help us enhance relationship value through cross-sell and up-sell to them,'' said Malay Ghosh, president and executive director, Reliance Life Insurance.

''This process will help life planning officers develop a relationship with the existing policyholders for sourcing future business. We will judge LPOs' performance based on the number of contacts they make and not just on the business they bring in,'' said Mr Ghosh.

''Life Insurance is a long-term financial solution and long-lasting customer relationships are critical for the company. Therefore, we are investing in creating channels to facilitate the development and maintenance of these relationships,'' he added.