what is the status of einsurance is it picking up and are there any challengeseinsurance is a step in the right direction by the regulator insurance regulatory and development authority of india or irdai the recently issued guidelines are also helping to build traction towards the same at this stage the key challenge is with the format the current format needs to enable customers to make policylevel changes like nominee addition or change request options such as fund switch etc currently the customers can only view policy details and update contact details as an industry we all need to come together and build awareness among the masses about einsurance the insurers are still focused on the savings part of insurance this has led to low protection levels what needs to be done there has been a lot of work and effort by the regulator and the industry to sensitise customers about the protection aspect of insurance the regulations also ensure that for customers to avail tax benefits the sum assured or life cover has to be at least 10 times the annual premium we promote needbased selling and encourage our sales force to ensure that the customer has at least one pure term plan in his financial portfolio in addition we have been conducting insurance awareness workshops in rural india to educate people about the importance of financial protection through insurancethe industry it seems is willing for an open bancassurance architecture many banks are now willing to sell policies of multiple insurers how do you view iteach bank has a different level of maturity on crossselling thirdparty solutions to its customers therefore this regulation to allow the banks to choose their open architecture model is a step in the right direction we would also be exploring tieups to increase our distribution footprintfrom a customers point of view how is the role of information technology in the insurance industry evolving are companies doing enough on the technology front other than basic hygiene servicesa product becomes relevant to a customer in three circumstances a there is a need for itb it is accessible to the consumers where he wants it and when he wants itc he is serviced where he wants and when he wants the solution for this is going digital technology is bridging the gap between the consumers and the insurance companiesdigital platform can address several pain points experienced by the distributors and customers alikethe sellers inability to provide simple products or a platform for comparisonsneedanalysis and instant objection handlingcumbersome onboarding process and tats turnaroundtime for policy issuanceissues linked to servicing online feedback platform 360degree crm experience inability of distribution partners to service customers etcthe insurance companies have traversed a long distance towards digital transformation are there any radical changes that the life insurance industry needs in its 16th year of opening up to private playersthe industry has changed significantly over the years now every aspect of the business is being viewed from the customers lens whether its products