A young employee of HAL (Hindustan Aircraft Ltd.) in Bangalore was fascinated by the crimson colored BSA motor bike standing in front of the factory and glistening in the warm morning sun. He went to the bike, touched it with awe and reverence to get a feel of it. Motor bikes were rare and a luxury during the war time in the early forties. The owner of the bike, on seeing this from a distance, approached him and after letting the young man get a feel of the machine, gently asked, "liked it ?". "Of course" was the reply. "Then you too can have one, if you so desire".
That's how one inspector of a foreign insurance company sold an agency to Mr. P K Thyagarajan. PK resigned his job and took up insurance agency with Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corp, which later merged into the Commercial Union Insurance Co. He took up a Life agency with Gresham Life Assurance Society and soon became the Chief Agent for Gresham & Commercial Union in Bangalore. By early fifties, he was the Local Manager for both the companies.
He drafted both his son and daughter-in-law into the insurance business and pronounced his vision that the client should get the service no matter when he needed it, what his requirements were and where he was present. Insurance companies came and went, officials changed at regular intervals, generations passed by but the clients who bought policies did receive the same quality of service.
Asked about the secret of his success, PK would narrate an anecdote : once while taking his shower, he got a telephone call from Mr. N K Iyengar, an industrialist, at Malleswaram in Bangalore. PK put on some clothes hurriedly without even drying himself and dashed to Malleswaram from his Ulsoor Bunglow. Mr. Iyengar asked him on his arrival, "can nomination once made, be changed at a later date ?". "Yes" was the reply. "Well, that is all I wanted to know". The meeting was over. PK never felt that the simple query could have been made over the phone.
The fifties and the sixties saw as many as 106 insurance companies doing business in the Indian market, the 70s saw the Nationalisation and monopolisation of the insurance business by LIC and GIC and the year 2001 again saw the MNCs re-entering the Indian market. Every new decade brought winds of change in the insurance industry. What remained unchanged has been our dedication to the consultancy profession and our commitment to our clients.
Client servicing is a religion at # 6 – B, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore. Our address remained the same in 55 years, some of our phone numbers remained unchanged for 55 years. So has the Trust of our clients. So much so that we have steel cupboards specially designed for storing Policy Bonds of our clients who have left them with the confidence that the bonds are more safer with us than in their own homes. The trust reflects in clients giving signed cheque books while going abroad with the confidence that the premiums would be paid on time and the maturity proceeds would go into their Bank Account without a day's delay.
The tradition of service continues. Latest Technology is used but it is not allowed to make the service delivery impersonal. The smiles are genuine, not plastic. The top priority is the client needs, whether it is rain or sun-shine. New business is always secondary to needs of existing clients. Our 99% client retention in General Insurance is still an enigma to insurance companies, trophies from insurance companies for best renewals ratio are an annual event for us. The officials of the insurance companies are also aware that they would be driven up the pole if there is a deficiency in the service rendered to our clients. When gentle requests, sound reasoning, coaxing and cajoling didn't work, we have taken them to the Insurance Regulator, all in the interest of our clients.
Our office is situated in one of the most beautiful heritage Bunglows of Bangalore, on a lush green campus with ample parking space and just a stone's throw away from the M G Road.