Aviva Life shifts focus from child cover to term insurance plan

With the volatility in the stock market, changes in Ulip (unit-linked insurance plan) regulations hiting margins and rising awareness of term insurance, life insurance companies are now shifting their focus towards selling protection plans. In line with these developments, Aviva Life insurance, which was till now focusing on selling Ulip child plans, is now focusing on term insurance.
“Term products which were contributing a mere 3 per cent to the total sales in 2010-11, would in 2011-12 contribute 20 per cent to the total sales. Traditional insurance products would constitute 60 per cent of the business, while Ulips the remaining for 2011-12,” Gaurav Rajput, director (marketing), Aviva Life Insurance, told Financial Chronicle.

The insurer has been able to sell 15,000 policies of Aviva I-Life in the last six months.

In line with its new focus on term plans, the insurer is also launching a new brand campaign. A TV commercial, which will go on air from February 7, will show Aviva’s brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar, introducing father of a new born to his future roles, which include role of a friend, a guide, a teacher that he will be playing as a father. However, he is told that the most important role that he must play as a father is that of a protector, by ensuring that his child is well protected against the inconsistencies of life whether or not he is around.

“Three years back, Aviva decided to concentrate on the child insurance space. As part of the insights study that we conducted recently, we realised that while education remains one of the key concerns of parents, in the bigger picture, protecting child holistically is becoming more significant. We believe that no one has explored the father and child relationship and the evolution of the same over the years and in the protection space, father clearly plays a bigger role in a child’s life,” said Rajput.

“While many campaigns, in the past have stressed on the importance of a mother’s role in a child’s life, there are very few which have attempted to underline a father’s contribution. Through this campaign, Aviva intends to celebrate fatherhood by educating fathers about their most important role and encouraging them to protect their child’s future through appropriate insurance,” he added.

This 35 second TVC, which will be playing across channels, will also be supported by a 360 degree marketing campaign involving print, outdoor and digital communication.