An Interview with Antony Jacob, Deputy MD, Royal Sundaram, Chennai.

Can you briefly tell us about the organisational structure of Royal Sundaram Alliance and the collaboration with the foreign partners?

Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Limited was among the first to be awarded a license by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority under the liberalised regime to set up a non-life insurance joint venture. It is a joint venture between Sundaram Finance and Royal & Sun Alliance. The latter holds 26 per cent in the proposed venture in accordance with the norms specified by the IRDA Act, 1999.

Royal & Sun Alliance is one of the world's largest international non-life insurance companies, which covers risks in over 130 countries and has over 20 million customers. Sundaram Finance is a leading non-banking finance company enjoying the confidence of over 500,000 depositors. The company has deposits of around Rs. 700 crores, net worth of over Rs. 430 crores and a distribution network of 95 branches in India. Sundaram Finance was promoted by Madras Motor & General Insurance Company (MMGI) , which was one of the leading insurance companies in India prior to nationalisation in 1972.

How are your services going to be developed to suit the needs of the urban and the rural market?

Customers across the globe now have information at their fingertips and are more educated, less loyal, and highly independent. They are driving companies to respond more efficiently to their needs. We at Royal Sundaram have carried out professional and independent qualitative market research in all parts of India, urban and rural. This has been undertaken with the express purpose of getting acquainted with the Indian consumer, understanding their buying behaviour and their perceptions. As a result, Royal Sundaram will be launching an insurance business with fully integrated customer-focused processes from start up. Our emphasis is to develop products and services based on direct consumer research.

We will also offer specific products for the rural areas as required under the law.

What is your target segment and what is your USP?

Royal Sundaram aims to deliver a wide range of commercial and personal non-life insurance policies to the Indian customer via easily accessible distribution channels. It will include motor, health, travel, personal accident as well as home cover while the commercial line will include fire, marine, engineering, public liability and product liability covers. Service and customisation will be the defining characteristics, providing the competitive edge.

Do your HR requirements (as a private insurance company) in any way differ from those of government insurance corporations, and how?

The technical requirements are at par. However, the private companies will most certainly emphasise on attributes that lend themselves to enhanced customer service.

Job security has been an integral feature and attraction of the government insurance industry. How are you going to reconcile this factor with your business model that to a large extent is profit- oriented?

All individuals who meet the performance criteria should have no apprehensions on this count at all. In fact, the competitive environment actually allows individuals a greater choice of career options. Our priority is a happy Royal Sundaram team, which in turn will lead to a happy and satisfied customer.

What are the HR practices you will be adopting to attract and retain your employees on long-term basis?

The opening of the insurance industry provides yet another avenue to pursue a career in the financial services industry.

Challenging responsibilities balanced by performance driven compensation and extensive training programmes we believe, will make Royal Sundaram a preferred career destination. We believe in investing in people to develop a successful business.

Can you describe the profile of the ideal candidate who will fit into your organisation across different levels?

The attributes we look for are high standards of customer service, consistent work standard and ethics and for the person to be a team player apart from the specific technical skill sets required for the task at hand.

What is the level of competition you expect in the coming years especially in the area where you have chosen to establish Royal Sundaram Alliance?

Many insurers are looking to build a presence in India and competition will become fierce as more and more insurance companies obtain licenses. Competition already exists in the form of the public sector general insurance companies, which are well established and enjoy very strong brand equity. Insurers will need to recognise customers' needs by being innovative, exploiting new opportunities, taking risks and by investing in the people.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN

Malini-s@indiainfo.com