Within a month of launching an online ‘point of sales’ (POS) system for its distribution channels, HDFC Life has seen 40-50% business coming in from this system. This is despite the fact customers have the option to buy policies through the new online system, CLICK2BUY, or through the existing offline form.

HDFC Life has taken the POS technology available in the market and customized for its users by collaborating with reinsurer, Swiss Re. The system will help customers to purchase insurance at a faster pace by reducing the policy issuance time.

CLICK2BUY is a sales tool with a objective of not only simplifying the insurance purchase process for customers, but also help the sales team of the company to submit a zero-defect proposal online via internet.

The system is driven by a rule engine, which ensures that every question required for underwriting a proposal is asked up-front. On clicking the submit button, the underwriting decision or medical reports required to underwrite are communicated to customers.

The system sends an email to the customer with the copy of the proposal form immediately on submitting the proposal. All the 12-15 different forms and checklist are rolled into one electronic form.

As the application form is an electronic web page, the sequence of questions is more logical and interlinked that result in gathering relevant information.

The company expects that new system will bring down policy processing time by 50 %.

The insurance policy being taken on the life of an individual requires detailed information, including habits, health, past illnesses, occupation, family history, travel details, income and nominees. This information is gathered in an application form called a Proposal Form, which forms the basis of the contract between the applicant and the life insurance company.

The underwriters (risk assessors) review the application form and decide if the application can be accepted for issuing the insurance cover, or should the application be rejected because of the risk, or more information/clarification is required to assess the risk. Based on the risk they may also ask the applicant to undergo medical examination.

CLICK2BUY has been designed in such a way that relevant questions would be put across to a consumer. In a physical form, all the questions are asked, whether they are relevant to a customer or not, it is a static form and all information needs to be capture. And, CLICK2BUY gets right information. Take for instance, if an individual is not in a risky occupation and does not have ailments, no irrelevant questions are asked. For others, questions are asked and future instructions for medical examination and other similar tests are given.

The initial form-filling process would only take 15-30 minutes for customers. However, the later part of the process involving physical submission of documents for identity and address proof may take time.

In the second phase, in January 2013, company will develop a system to upload scanned documents in this platform, where company could respond to a customer within a day.

In the next 2-3 years, company expects more than 50% of business to be logged on CLICK2BUY and also contribute significantly to reduction of operational cost.  CLICK2BUY will also lead to virtualization of insurance offices in long term.

Since, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is contemplating to introduce concept of demat policies, HDFC Life is planning to link CLICK2BUY to the demat format, as and when it is brought.