“Behind every thriving business is a risk management strategy—and insurance is its cornerstone.”
Editor’s Editor’s
Strategic Simplicity in Insurance
Theinsuranceindustryhaslongbeenseenastraditional,complex,andresistant
tochange.Butintoday’sdigital-firsteconomy,forward-thinkingleadersare challengingthatstatusquo—andredefiningwhatinsurancemeansfor businesses.AmongthemisSajjaPraveenChowdary,DirectorofPolicybazaarfor Business,whosevisionandexecutionarereshapinghowcorporateinsuranceis accessed,understood,anddelivered.
Inthisexclusiveinterview,Praveensharesmorethanjustmilestones—heoffersinsight intowhatittakestoleadinnovationwithpurpose.Hisjourney,rootedinastrong foundationoffinance,operations,andstrategy,reflectsadeepunderstandingofhowto drivegrowthwhilesolvingreal-worldchallengesfacedbyIndianenterprises.Underhis leadership,PolicybazaarforBusinesshasgrownintoatrusteddigitaldistribution platform,servingover12millionlivesandenablingcompaniestoprovidemeaningful healthandlifeinsurancecoveragetotheiremployees.
WhatdistinguishesPraveen’sleadershipishisclarityofpurpose:tomakeinsurance simpler,moretransparent,andmoreimpactful.Fromstreamliningpolicydistributionfor SMEstointroducingtech-ledprocessesthatdemystifygroupinsuranceplans,hiswork isnotjustaboutscalingabusiness—it’saboutdeliveringtangiblevalue.
Thisfeaturegoesbeyondaprofile—itcapturestheessenceoftransformativeleadership inanevolvingsector.Praveen’sperspectiveistimely,relevant,andnecessaryforany businessnavigatingemployeewell-beingandriskmanagementintoday’slandscape.
We’repleasedtospotlightSajjaPraveenChowdaryasaleaderdrivingmeaningful changeinIndia’sinsuranceecosystem.
MichaelWayne
Tanping Wang Senior Director, ML and AI Development
Jacqueline Karlin Senior Director of AI Product PayPal
Venkatesh Shivanna
Shardul Desai
Sandeep Jha
Eleonore Fournier-Tombs
Kailash Thiyagarajan
Naresh Dulam
F e a t u r i n g
Sajja Praveen Chowdary
Driving Purposeful Innovation in the Insurance Industry
For us at the core of PolicyBazaar for Business, the most essential quality to drive innovation is an unwavering focus on the customer.
I began my career with brief stints at IPRU and Citibank before joining PolicyBazaar for Business, where I’ve now spent nearly 14 years.
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Customerswhomissedtheirrenewaldeadlineswere requiredtoundergovehicleinspections—acumbersome andinefficientprocessatthetime.Therewereno standardizeddigitalsolutions,internetbandwidthwas limited,andcoordinationwithmultipleinspectionagencies acrossstatescreatedsignificantoperationalchaos.
Eachinsurancecompanyworkedwithdifferentinspection vendors,leadingtooverlaps,inconsistentservicequality, anddataleakage.Theinefficienciesaffectedconversion ratesandcustomerexperience.Werealizedthiswasnot scalableandbeganexploringmorestreamlined,tech-driven alternatives.Engagingwithourinsurancepartners,we askedafundamentalquestion:“How can we simplify and secure this process?”
Initially,weconsideredphotosubmissionsfromcustomers, butfraudulentsubmissionsunderminedthecredibilityof thatapproachinthepast.Thatledustoexploreself-video inspections.Toaddressconcernsabouttampering,we developedanappthatensuredsecure,real-timevideo capturewithverificationlayerstopreventmanipulation. Theresultwasaseamless,fraud-resistant,self-inspection toolthatsignificantlyimprovedcustomerexperienceand becameabenchmarkintheindustry
AnotherkeychallengeIobserved—especiallyinretail segmentsliketermlifeandhealthinsurance—wascustomer hesitation.Eventhoughtheyacknowledgedtheimportance ofinsurance,manyquestionedtheurgency:“DoIreally needtobuythisnow?”Ourfocusshiftedtoeducating customersaboutrisingpolicycostsandage-related premiumhikes.Byshowcasinghistoricaltrendsand demonstratinghowdelayingpurchasescouldimpact affordability,wewereabletodrivehometheneedfor timelyaction.
Whetheritwasstreamlininginspectionformotorinsurance orbreakingpsychologicalbarriersinlifeandhealth insurance,weconsistentlyfocusedonconsumerinsightsto developmeaningfulsolutions.Thatcustomer-firstapproach hasbeeninstrumentalindrivingbothinnovationandimpact acrossourinsuranceofferings.
Howdidyourexperienceinbusinessmanagement, productdevelopment,andmarketingshapeyour leadershipapproach?
Oneofthemostvaluableexperiencesinmyjourneyhas beenmystintonthetechandproductside,whichgaveme adeeperunderstandingofhowtoenvisionthefutureasa
I began my career with brief stints at IPRU and Citibank before joining PolicyBazaar for Business, where I’ve now spent nearly 14 years. “ “
monthlyadditionsanddeletionsofemployees,refunds,or CDbalanceadjustments.We'vecreatedrobustdashboards andreal-timereportingtoolssoHRandpolicyadminsno longerneedtorelyonmanualfollow-ups.Everythingis accessible,transparent,andaudit-ready
Third,wehelpcompaniesmanagetheirpremiumsbetter Insurancepremiumsareofteninfluencedbyclaimratios, andwe'vedevelopedanalyticaltoolsthathelpclients proactivelymonitorclaimstrends,optimizecoverage,and makedata-backeddecisionsthroughoutthepolicy year—insteadofwaitinguntilrenewal.
FromanSMEperspective,thechallengesaredifferent. Historically,SMEshavehadlimitedaccesstotransparent insuranceoptions.They’veoftenreliedonindividualagents orsmallbrokerswithoutvisibilityintothebroadermarket. Thislackoftransparencyhasledtoamismatchinpricing andinadequatecoverage.
PolicyBazaarforBusinesshasbridgedthisgapbybuilding adigital-firstplatformspecificallyforSMEs.Muchlikeour retailcomparisonmodel,thisplatformallowssmall businessestocompareinsurers,plans,andpricinginreal time—empoweringthemwithchoice,clarity,andcontrol. Thesesolutionsaretailored,cost-effective,andeasyto implement,whichisespeciallyimportantforbusinesses withoutlargeHRoradminteams.
Moreover,werecognizethatSMEsevolve.Astheygrow intomid-sizedcompanies,theirinsuranceneedsbecome morecomplex.Insteadofswitchingprovidersatevery stage,wepositionourselvesasalong-termpartner,offering scalablesolutionsthatevolvewiththebusiness.Whether it’sexpandingcoverage,customizingpolicies,orintroducingnewbenefits—wesupportthemthroughoutthejourney
Internally,we’vestructuredourteamstoreflectthis diversity.Wehavededicatedspecialistsforlargecorporates andseparateteamsfocusedonSMEs,ensuringevery client—regardlessofsize—receivestheexpertiseand attentiontheyneed.Acrossbothsegments,ourgoalremains thesame:deliverseamlessservice,customizedsolutions, andcompletetransparency
Inshort,PolicyBazaarforBusinessisredefininghow insuranceisdeliveredtobusinessesinIndia—bycombining technology,customerinsight,andscalablesolutionsto servebothlargeenterprisesandgrowingSMEswithequal effectiveness.
HowisPolicyBazaarForBusinessleveragingtechnologicaladvancementslikeAItoofferbetterinsurance solutionstobusinesses?
AtPolicyBazaarforBusiness,ourcorebeliefisthat technologyshouldbeameanstosolvereal-worldproblems—notjustinnovationforthesakeofit.Everytech interventionwemakeisdrivenbytheintenttoeither enhanceservicedelivery,reducetheturnaroundtimeor eliminatefrictionfromtheuserjourney.Andthisprinciple extendstoourapproachtoAIandotheremergingtechnologiesintheinsurancespace.
Agreatexampleishowwe’veimprovedtheemployee experiencewhenitcomestogrouphealthinsurance. Traditionally,employeeswouldreceivetheire-cardsand policydocumentsviaemailatthestartoftheyear—but mostwouldn’trememberoraccessthemuntilamedical emergencystruck.Insuchmoments,employeeswould scrambletocontactHR,whowouldthenreachoutto insurersorTPAstoretrievetherequireddocuments—often causingdelaysandstress.
Toaddressthis,webuiltmultipletech-enabledaccess pointsforemployees.ThroughourdedicatedEmployee WellnessApp,employeescannowaccesstheire-cards,file claims,andtrackpolicydetailsinrealtime.Forthoseless inclinedtousemobileapps—suchasblue-collarworkers—we’vealsointroducedaWhatsApp-basedbot.Witha
simple“Hi,”usersreceiveintuitivemenuoptionsincluding “Download E-card,”makingsupportavailable24x7 withoutrelyingonHRoradminintervention.
We’veevenconsideredscenarioswheresomeoneelse,such asacolleague,maybeassistingtheinsuredindividual.In suchcases,ouremployer-sideadminpanelallowsHR teamstoinstantlyretrieveandsharethee-cardwithjusta click—eliminatingthewaitandconfusion.
Thisisjustoneexampleofhowwe'resolvingmicro-level painpointsthroughthoughtfultechdesign.Importantly, thesesolutionsareinclusiveanddesignedforaccessibility—whethertheuserisinacorporateboardroomorona factoryfloor
Aswescalefurther,weareactivelyintegratingAItodrive smarteranalytics,fasterclaimsprocessing,andmore personalizedpolicyrecommendationsforbusinesses.The goalremainsthesame:tosimplifyinsurance,empower decision-makers,anddeliverseamlessserviceacrossthe board.
Technology,whenappliedwithpurpose,becomesa powerfulenabler—andthat’sexactlyhowwe’releveraging itatPolicyBazaarforBusinessforbusinessesofallsizes.
Howdoyouseethecorporateinsurancelandscape evolvinginIndiaoverthenextfiveyears?
ThecorporateinsurancelandscapeinIndiaispoisedfora significanttransformationoverthenextfiveyears,shaped bytwokeydomains:employeebenefitsandcommercial lines(coveringassets,liabilities,andoperationalrisks).
Ontheemployeebenefitsside,therehasbeenasharp escalationinhealthcarecosts,particularlypost-COVID-19, drivenbymedicalinflationandevolvingemployee expectations.Manyorganizations—especiallynewer-age companies—areadoptinggenerousbenefitspackagesto attractandretaintoptalent.Theseincludenotjusthealth insurancebutalsowellness-orientedadd-onslikedoctor consultations,OPDcoverage,gymmemberships,and annualhealthcheckups.
However,thistrendofextensiveemployeebenefitsmay reachaninflectionpoint.Ascostscontinuetorise, companieswillbecompelledtoassesssustainability.A balancemustbestruckbetweenofferingmeaningful benefitsandmanagingfinancialviability.Overtime,we mayseeamorecalibratedapproach,wherebenefitsare
structuredwithsmartercapsandbettercost-control mechanismstoavoidmisuseorinflationarypressurefrom thehealthcareecosystem.Organizationswillalsolookmore closelyathowtheirofferingsbenchmarkwiththemarket, influencingboththeirretentionstrategyandbudgeting decisions.
Ontheotherside,technologyandregulationwillcontinue toreshapehowcorporateinsuranceisdeliveredand managed.TheadoptionofAIandself-serviceplatformsis alreadystreamliningadministrativeprocesses,reducing manualintervention,andmakingtheexperiencemore seamlessforHRteamsandemployeesalike.Forinstance, capabilitiessuchasdigitale-cards,automatedclaimsfiling, andreal-timepolicytrackinghavealreadyenhanced efficiency
