Slowdown and IRDA Forcing Insurance CIOs to Re-architect IT
Added 10th Feb 2012The Indian insurance industry has been witnessing a slowdown partly because of a lack of confidence among consumers following global economic uncertainty and party because IRDA’s new regulations have changed the way companies can conduct business.
"Business has been slow in the last quarter. One of the reasons is the trickle-down effect of the slowdown in other industries like auto,” believes U.C.Dubey, EVP-IT, Iffco-Tokio General Insurance. Dubey adds that IT projects for the year have been similarly impacted, with focus shifting to improving cost-efficiencies.
Sankar Narayanan, director-IT, Aegon Religare Life Insurance agrees. " The macro economic situation has lead to a de-growth in the industry, and subsequently budgets are expected to be flat. The emphasis on IT is to do more with less. We've turned to the cloud for most of our IT services," he says.
Apart from the global economic slowdown, regulatory changes imposed by IRDA have had a slowing down impact, since a majority of IT activities are focusing on making a company compliant with the regulator. “The new IRDA regulations are in the interest of the consumer and it’s a great step forward. However, new regulations always have an inherent challenge to IT, because they require a new framework," says Hitesh Arora, head-IT, Max New York Life Insurance.
Arora believes that this is a positive step and it will help insurance companies focus on bringing IT-enabled flexibility and agility in business that can encompass new regulations and be quick to respond to market demands.
For instance SBI Life’s new compliant management system was a direct IT-enabled response to the changing guidelines imposed by IRDA. The new guidelines specify the timeframe in which a complaint should be resolved and also its process.
“Following the IRDA mandate all insurance companies are expected to share reports on complaints received and resolved, so as to track the performance of the insurers. To enable that we’ve designed a CRM-based complaint and lead management that is today being used as a model for other insurance companies,” says Parameswar Menon, VP and Head-Customer and Partner Channel Systems, SBI Life.
Send feedback to varsha_chidambaram@cio.in
This is a part of our series on how the slowdown is affecting Indian Industries and the decisions of CIOs. You can read the rest here
latest news
-
Gearing IT for the Rains: What CIOs Need to Know
Here's how CIOs can prepare their organizations for monsoons, when faced by flooded basements, stranded employees, and disrupted services.
-
Why Microsoft Office for iPad is Inevitable
New reports have surfaced that Microsoft is developing Office apps for iOS and Android. If true, it's a very smart move by Microsoft.
-
Mobile Workers Work Longer Hours
Almost two-thirds of mobile employees say they are working 50 to 60 hour-plus weeks, with most working weekends too, according to research.
-
IBM: Only 16% CEOs Using Social Media to Connect with Customers
IBM says a study it did of some 1,700 Chief Executive Officers worldwide found that many indeed - or should be -- grasping social media as a key enabler of collaboration and innovation.
