Individuals  Corporates  Professionals	Home Glossary SiteMap Contact Us

E-mail

Message Board

News

Events

Debate Corner

Bimaonline.com campaigns to 'insure' a global base

24thMay 2000

HERE'S bimaonline.com, an intermediary for insurance companies, which will provide insurance on the Net. It will be boosted by an investment of between Rs 15 crore and Rs 20 crore by MFL Net Services Ltd. in the next two years.

Says B Anand, director, MFL Net Services Ltd, "Around 50 per cent of the investment on bimaonline.com will be earmarked for brand-building and the other half for technology support."

Individual angel investors from the US and Singapore have invested Rs 3 crore and bimaonline plans to go for VC funding once in six months. Says Anand, "Angel investors have given us a valuation of Rs 8 crore but we are aiming to grow three times every six months." The company may also go in for strategic alliances with banks and some foreign insurance brokers.

Bimaonline is a vertical portal which will act as an intermediary for insurance companies. Based on its proprietary tool - Bima Consultant - the site will facilitate on-line insurance services to consumers.

With offices in Mumbai and Hyderabad, bimaonline will have tie-ups with five public sector insurance companies by September once the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) rules are announced in June and the licence is issued in September 2000. By January 2001, bimaonline is expected to tie-up with 15 private sector insurance companies.

MFL Net Services is expecting to post revenues of over Rs 7 crore by December 2001. Says Anand "We're expecting a growth of over 200 per cent for next three-five years." Individual insurers are expected to account for between 30 per cent and 40 percent of the total revenue while corporate users around 60-70 per cent.

A five-fold revenue approach

At present, bimaonline is looking at a five-pronged revenue model: selling insurance brokerage with a commission of 15 per cent once the insurance policy is operational in the next eight months; providing at least four to five online insurance quotes to corporate insurers (like Nasdaq-listed INSWEB.com and Rapid Insure in the US); net consultancy for corporates; registration and education fee for insurance agents; and advertising revenue from insurance companies, hospitals and banks.

The bulk of bimaonline's revenue - around 80 per cent - is expected to come from brokerage while advertisement is expected to account for a low two to three per cent.

The premium insurance market is estimated at Rs 35,000 crore, which presents a potential brokerage market of Rs 3,500 crore. In addition to the existing five public sector insurance companies, 15 high-profile premium insurance companies will hit the market shortly. Also, in next two years, three to four more insurance sites are likely to join the existing base of three insurance-related sites.

Marketing the portal

Bimaonline's future plan includes marketing of the insurance portal in Dubai and Singapore and creating three distinct sites (from the existing site) to cater to the specific needs of three different communities: corporate users, individuals and insurance professionals (in terms of employment, the insurance sector is next only to the railways).

Also, taking into cognisance the distinct needs of the Middle-East based NRIs who need policies like fire insurance, while the west-based NRIs, who need policies for their aged parents or travel insurance for their parents and relatives, bimaonline will vigorously market the site among NRIs.

While a separate, enhanced corporate user site is expected in a month, other sub-sites will be created in the next few months.

The individual site (for personal insurance) will provide both information and facilitate online transactions; the corporate insurance site will be aimed at financial managers and will provide information, consultancy services, facility to call for insurance tenders and online transactions; and the site for insurance professionals will provide the latest global insurance news, career opportunities and professional chat facilities.

To provide news content, bimaonline is planning to tie-up with leading financial newspapers very shortly. Bimaonline is also strengthening the site to appeal to insurance agents - especially from LIC and GIC's four non-life subsidiaries - who will be required to pay a registration fee of Rs 1,000 a year. So far the registration is for free and over 200 agents have been drawn in.

"We'll have tie-ups with these agents and pass on business to them," says Anand. "We will also ensure that they are active and don't continue as dummies."

The site will reflect the agent's qualifications, level of business secured in the last three years, and other special achievements.

Adspend

Bimaonline is planning to spend around Rs 8 crore on advertising to boost the site. The first burst is expected during August and September 2000 once its advertising agency and brand strategy are finalised.

Earlier it used a Hyderabad-based agency Priyadarshini for creating logo, sending mailers to over 1,000 people, conducting an event around fire tariff (to convey that fire insurance rates have been slashed by 30 per cent) and billboards. Its future marketing strategy will include city-specific advertising and direct selling to corporates through its sales force.

	Book Point  |  Basics  |  Insurers  |  Message Board  |  Site Map  |  Contact Us  |  Articles  |  Proposal Forms   NewKids  |  Bimaonline in News  |  Tips  |  GuestBook  |  FAQs |  Greetings  |  News Updates  |  Events  |  Debate Corner  |  Bima Stats | Insurance Rules  |  Bima Fun  |  Glossary  |  NRI Centre  |  Insurance Guide  |  Partners  |  Email  |  Home  |  Policy of the Fortnight
	DISCLAIMER Copyright © 2000-03. Bimaonline.com All rights reserved