by Suman Gupta
National, 25 April 2024: Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd (Star Health Insurance), India’s largest retail health insurance company, has won the ‘Best Risk Transformation of the Year’ award at the BFSI Innovation Confex & Awards 2024 held in Mumbai. This accolade stands as a testament to the commitment at Star Health Insurance towards excellence in the field of risk management. It is an acknowledgment of the efforts and innovative initiatives, which has fostered a resilient risk management culture at the Company.
With a focus on innovation and customer-centricity, Star Health Insurance strives to set industry benchmarks and drive positive change in the health insurance ecosystem. It is committed to facilitating organizational expansion, responsibly and sustainably. This commitment is fulfilled by strategic risk management practices, prioritizing safety, and sustaining the organization’s cultural values. The overarching purpose remains steadfast, which is keeping the customers and society safe for a better future. The strategic approach acknowledges these inherent risks and diversification by leveraging the scale, range of products and services, and various distribution networks. This enables the company to be agile and respond to challenges while capitalizing on new opportunities.
Commenting on the achievement, Anand Roy, MD & CEO, Star Health Insurance said, “We are thrilled to win the ‘Best Risk Transformation of the Year’ award. The health insurance business today is fraught with risks from rapidly evolving markets, climate change, technology disruptors, geopolitical conflicts, and changing consumer dynamics. This award reaffirms our commitment to robust risk management practices, ensuring that the crucial aspects of our business get adequate protection and that we remain ready to respond to any eventuality. We have adopted a ‘risk first’ attitude and this is reflected across all our operations.”
A vigorous risk management culture is very critical for risk management strategy, and this is established through building the organization’s capacity at all levels of employment. Star Health believes that all employees & associated entities must be trained in the basics of risk management and be able to institute mitigating controls across employee levels. This is achieved through a sustained knowledge-sharing program, encouraging collaborative endeavor across departments, implementing strong risk protocols to respond to anticipated and unanticipated threats, and stringent risk-based audits.
Market Dominance
Star Health is a leading provider of comprehensive health insurance solutions, committed to delivering exceptional service and value to its customers. The company is a pan-India player with a presence across 877 branches. As of January 2024, Star Health Insurance holds the largest market share in the retail health insurance business in India, accounting for 33 percent. The insurer has a strong distribution network of 6.84 lakh agents, which is among the largest in the insurance sector. The company also distributes its products through other channels such as digital, direct sales, corporate relations, brokers, and alternate channels. The commanding presence in the distribution networks enables a competitive advantage for the Company.
