The international research conference was held on 23 August 2024 at the National Insurance Academy, Pune, a leading institution for education, training and research in insurance, pension and related fields. The theme of the conference was “Innovations for Insurance Inclusion – The Way Forward”
Renjit Gangadharan and V Balagopal, Joint Charge Director, welcomed the dignitaries, national and international speakers, industry experts, academicians, delegates and students who graced the international conference on the theme ‘Innovation for Insurance Inclusion – The Way Forward’. They emphasised the need for innovative solutions to make insurance accessible, affordable and understandable to achieve the goal of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’.
GN Bajpai, Chairman, GovEVA Private Ltd., in his inaugural address, spoke about the stagnation of the life and general insurance industry in India and stressed the need for innovation to make insurance more inclusive, accessible and affordable. Bajpai urged exploring advanced technologies such as smart contracts to innovate and develop pull products. He also suggested leveraging technology to focus on four areas: pricing, accessibility, affordability and sustainability to serve the large untapped market.
Satyajit Tripathi, Member (Sales) IRDAI, in his keynote address compared the changing demographics and customer expectations with the technological evolution of the last two decades, especially in the telecom and automobile industries. He spoke about how Big Data/AI is bringing about technological innovations in the health and motor insurance space. He also spoke about the emerging risks and the measures needed to address these challenges.
Dr. Sanjay Mali, Principal, PGDM, delivered the inaugural speech and thanked the prominent speakers, distinguished guests, industry experts and special invitees. This was followed by a panel discussion and presentation of papers.
The panel discussion was held on the theme of “Legal and Regulatory Reforms for Insurance Innovation” and was moderated by Varun Gupta, Partner and Director, E&Y. The panel was graced by dignitaries such as Prasun Kumar Das, Secretary General, Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association, Bangkok, Damayanthi Fernando, Director General, Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Satyajit Tripathy, Member (Sales), IRDAI and Praveen Trivedi, Managing Director, IFSCA. V Sathyakumar, Chair Professor (FISS) at NIA expressed his gratitude for the panel discussion and thanked the prominent speakers, distinguished guests, industry experts and special invitees for their valuable contributions and participation in the event.
The sessions were divided into three tracks, each held at different venues with lively participation. Track 1, which focused on technology and insurance, was moderated by Amit Roy, Partner and Head of Insurance & Allied Businesses at PwC India. Track 2 focused on innovation in insurance and was moderated by Dr. S. Doss, Professor at NIA. Track 3, which focused on leadership, gender diversity and insurance inclusion, was moderated by GN Bajpai, Chairman, GovEVA Private Limited. These sessions presented insightful discussions and innovative research contributions.
The valedictory session was chaired by Sanjay Mali, Director, PGDM, who spoke about the PGDM programme at NIA and the conference. This was followed by insights from the guest of honour, Dr. Anil Keskar, Head, Research Centre, Balaji University. V Balagopal, Deputy Director, NIA, announced the winner of the Best Paper Award and presented the award and certificates to the awardees. The first prize was won by Tejashree Taware, Lecturer, PA, Inamdar University and the second prize was won by a team comprising Utsavi Kumar, Rushikesh Kalambe and Diksha Singh (PGDM students, NIA).
At the end, Dr. S. Doss, Professor at NIA and Conference Coordinator, delivered his words of thanks and thanked the prominent speakers, distinguished guests, industry experts and special invitees for their valuable contributions in bringing the event to a successful conclusion.
