With the insurance market expanding into Tier 3 and beyond, the task for Axis Max Life Insurance (formerly known as Max Life Insurance) wasn’t just about maintaining market share—it was about reshaping the company’s identity in regions where insurance remains a distant concept.
In an interview with Storyboard18, Prashant Tripathy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Axis Max Life Insurance, reflects on the challenges of merging Axis Bank’s name into the brand, the lessons learned from the pandemic, and the evolving role of technology and trust in an increasingly digital landscape.
Tripathy sheds light on the company’s expansion into rural India, rebranding with Axis Bank, and why ESG compliance, digital innovation, and culture are not merely industry buzzwords but essential for survival in a shifting financial ecosystem..
Edited excerpts:
What is the vision behind the rebranding and new campaign, and how do you see it connecting with today’s consumers, particularly the younger demographic?
The vision for Max Life Insurance, which has been consistent ever since we were born, is to build the most admired life insurance company. Axis Bank became our promoter way back in 2021 by acquiring stakes—first 13%, and now at 19.02%. With that, they became our promoters and sponsors.
Hence, with that change, one of the options available to the management of Max Life Insurance was the choice to include their name in our brand. We collectively considered and went through a long exercise of conducting research to find out in what shape or form we could include it, whether to include it or not, and also how to structure it in the logo, etc.
What you see now is work that was very scientifically undertaken through extensive research and focus group discussions. The rationale, at least for me, was simple: we have to do the best for Axis Life Insurance, which could drive the aspiration of being closer to the customer while also driving growth.
If you really look at it, over the next two to three decades, insurance is going to expand into geographies where we are not yet present—Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4 cities. Currently, our office presence is in only the top 250 cities. So, the insurance market will grow very quickly into cities where we are not yet present.
The research pointed out that it was acceptable to use both names and try to create a “double bharosa.”
Axis Bank is present in 2,500 cities with 5,600 branches. It is definitely a much more prominent financial services brand. I was fortunate for the graciousness of both shareholders, who allowed us to use a composite brand and the logo of Axis Bank.
So, I think it is going to serve us in terms of growth, consideration, closeness to the customer, and our ability to pursue the vision of being the most admired life insurance company.
How do you plan to achieve your target growth next year? What is your premium growth target, and what are the plans to achieve it, especially in untapped markets?
Last year, we grew 16%, which was three times the growth rate of the industry and double the growth rate of the private industry. This year, our growth rate so far, until November, is 28%, compared to 21% for the private industry and an overall industry growth rate of about 14%. We are growing at double the rate. Axis Max Life Insurance is very consistently and rapidly gaining market share.
If you look at the percentage of policies coming from Tier 3 and beyond cities, that’s close to 43% this year. Last year, that number was 40%. We are expanding geographically as well as growing rapidly, and that’s going to help us next year.
The business planning process is still ongoing, but suffice it to say that we will continue to grow significantly faster than the industry. Within that, we will focus on four key areas:
Expanding proprietary channels more quickly is another objective. For example, until November, proprietary channels were growing at 44%. We will continue to expand agency and digital channels. Currently, 35% of our customers are coming through digital.
Strengthening the Protection and Retirement verticals is also another priority. In Protection, we will solidify our position. In Retirement, where we are at position #3, we will consolidate further.
Where do your ad spend and media spend currently stand, and are there plans to grow it?
There’s performance marketing, and then there’s brand marketing. Performance marketing budgets are proportionate to sales and are primarily aimed at creating traffic. As the business expands, performance marketing budgets also grow because they’re a driver of distribution costs.
On marketing monies, we are expanding. You’ll see us becoming more prominent over the next six months because we are undergoing this rebranding exercise. If you open a newspaper, you’ll see us on the front page with our brand ambassador.
Coming to Gen Z, over the next few weeks, you’ll also find us doing something specific in the Gen Z space on the internet. While I can’t share exact numbers, you’ll see more visibility and a more intense exercise in the coming months.
Forward-looking statements are tricky, but over the next few quarters, we anticipate growing more than double digits in ad and media spends.
How does the company envision tech reshaping insurance distribution in India in the future? Are there specific technologies or processes you’re prioritizing?
Tech is going to play a major role in the two key areas for life insurance companies: distribution and customer servicing.
In distribution, for instance, our digital sales have grown at a 60% CAGR over the past five years. Back in 2016, digital sales were Rs 20 crore. This year, we’ll finish at Rs 1200 crore. This growth is driven by performance marketing, search optimizations, analytics, and digital underwriting.
On the servicing side, we’re cutting underwriting timelines by 50%, reducing fraud risk, and leveraging public digital infrastructure. Around 95% of our digital infrastructure is now on the cloud.
Two big bets excite me:
A super app for our sellers, consolidating performance management, dashboards, training, lead information, and more into one place.
A customer app focused on servicing and engagement in health and retirement ecosystems.
What share of Axis Max Life’s customer base comes from rural or semi-urban areas? What partnerships are you pursuing to drive penetration in these regions?
Tier 3 and beyond cities account for 43% of our policies. We’re expanding systematically by entering new cities and leveraging digital channels. For partnerships, we have partnered with Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, South Indian Bank, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Capital Small Finance Bank, and India Post Payments Bank, among others. These relationships are helping us tap into semi-urban and rural markets effectively.
ESG and sustainability are big topics today. What percentage of the company’s investment portfolio is allocated to sustainable assets?
100% of shareholder funds and 75% of policyholder funds are in ESG-compliant assets. Beyond investments, we’re working toward carbon neutrality by 2028, driving diversity with 28% women in our workforce, and targeting inclusive leadership across the organization.
During your time as CEO, what has been the most surprising challenge, and how has it shaped your leadership approach?
I took over in January 2019, and 15 months later, COVID hit. It was humbling and challenging, but I’m proud we honored all customer commitments, paid claims, and maintained strong financial outcomes.
If I had to sum it up, the key to success lies in people—upholding culture, building leadership, and giving space to teams.