BWI: Cholamandalam MS Launches Click Easy Insurance

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Cholamandalam MS
Thursday, February 04, 2010 03:48 PM IST (10:18 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Stock exchanges
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Cholamandalam MS Launches Click Easy Insurance
Introduces e-policies and Interactive Customer Interface

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Thursday, February 04, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd. (Chola MS), a joint venture of the Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Japan, today announced the launch of CLICK EASY Car Insurance on their new website, www.cholainsurance.com. With this launch customers can now buy and renew Chola motor policies online. The new site offers the right ambience, simplicity and convenience to buy and renew chola products. The key advantage of this new initiative is that the customers can now enjoy simple, transparent, paperless transactions and instantaneous policy issuance, regardless of proximity and time. The company will soon offer other retail products like Travel, Health, Home and Personal Accident policies on the web. The company aims to sell 5% of its retail policies online in 2010-11 and ramp up to 20% in 3 years timeframe.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. S.S. Gopalarathnam, Managing Director - Chola MS said, "Web is a powerful medium as it enables the new age customer in his Insurance purchase process. Our market research establishes that policy online not only aids buying at ease but also helps create association and bonding with the customer through interactive communication and virtual service which is very crucial for us. For the tech savvy and time constrained customers Click Easy Insurance promises the Simplicity, Convenience and Interactivity in buying insurance at the click of a mouse."

The Chola MS team has done extensive user interface study while designing the new website and Click Easy Insurance initiative. This new site offers unique customer friendly features like live chat interface, branch / agent / garage locator with "sms me" option, e.t.c. In the health section, the individual customers can log in to print their Health e-Cards, locate hospital of their preference and also view their claim status. The Corporate login utility on the site offers the corporate to see the status at an aggregate or individual level. The company will offer online claim intimation utility for the customers as an ongoing effort.

Chola MS would embark on a multimedia campaign to generate traffic for the new site in the coming months. The company also plans to use social media to generate the buzz for this important initiative. A dedicated front and back end customer support team has been formed for instant service and fulfillment of the web traffic.

Chola MS has made consistent investments to upgrade its IT infrastructure over the last couple of years. Click Easy Insurance is the culmination of the phase 2 of Project Lakshya launched in 2008 to help speed up delivery of customer interaction, minimize waiting period for any transaction and improve customer service. Chola MS has partnered with TCS - CMC for this important tech initiative.

Chola MS also intends to offer its policies through Mobile Commerce in near future to be in stride with the changing technological preference of the customer.

About Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company (Chola MS)

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd. is a Joint Venture between the USD 3.14 billion Murugappa Group, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group of Japan. Chola MS is headquartered in Chennai and has 113 offices spread across India. Chola MS offers a wide range of products that include Accident, Engineering, Health, Liability, Marine, Motor, Property, Travel and Rural insurance for individuals and corporate.

About the Murugappa Group

Headquartered in Chennai, the Rs. 15,907 crores (USD 3.14 billion) Murugappa Group is one of India's leading business conglomerates. Market leaders in diverse areas of business including Engineering, Abrasives, Finance, General Insurance, Cycles, Sugar, Farm Inputs, Fertilizers, Plantations, Bio-products and Nutraceuticals, its 29 companies have manufacturing facilities spread across 13 states in India. The organization fosters an environment of professionalism and has a workforce of over 32,000 employees. The Group has forged strong joint venture alliances with leading international companies like DBS Bank, Mitsui Sumitomo, Foskor, Cargill and Groupe Chimique Tunisien has consolidated its status as one of the fastest growing diversified business houses in India.

About Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company (MSI)

Mitsui Sumitomo is the second largest Insurance Group in Japan, with a Net Written Premium (NWP) of 12.39 billion USD in 2008. The Company has 729 sales bases, 257 claims handling offices and about 59000 agents throughout Japan. MS also offers its services globally with 63 sales bases in 38 countries and regions overseas. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. was awarded the "General Insurance Company of the Year" Award in 2005 at the 9th Asia Insurance Industry Award ceremony held in Singapore. This has been awarded to MSI for being the most active non-life insurance company and for reaching the top of the foreign non-life insurers in the region.


CONTACT DETAILS
Neeraj Moorjani, AVP- Marketing and Corporate Communications, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company, +91 9382809420, neerajM@cholams.murugappa.com
Anu Lakshman, Associate Vice President, IPAN Hill and Knowlton, +91 9841039574, alakshman@ipanhillandknowlton.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, STOCK EXCHANGES

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