Airtel offers unlimited calling, 2GB per day and life insurance cover of Rs 4 lakh in this new prepaid plan

One of India's leading telecom operators, Airtel has joined hands with HDFC Life to offer country's first prepaid bundle that comes with life insurance cover. The new prepaid plan priced at Rs 249 offers unlimited calling, 2GB per day and built-in life insurance cover worth Rs 4 lakh. The plan also comes with 100 SMS/day and has a validity of 28 days. A customer needs to enroll for insurance after the first recharge through SMS, My Airtel App or Retailer. The insurance renews automatically for subsequent recharges. Also, the policy cover is valid till the recharge is active. 

As per the IRDAI, the insurance penetration in India is less than 4% (of the population) while smartphones will account for 38% of all networked devices by 2022, i.e, 829 million, compared to 26% in 2017, i.e, 404.1 million. Through this partnership, Airtel and HDFC Life aims to leverage their respective digital platforms and Airtel’s distribution reach to make it very simple for millions of uninsured and underinsured Indians with a mobile phone to get a life cover every time they recharge their mobile phones.    

Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel said, "A telco is well positioned to provide the digital backbone to drive innovation and create value for consumers. This is first among many powerful use cases that leverage the power of a telco to build a digitally enabled and financially inclusive India. Insurance adoption is abysmally low in India, including in urban areas. Price, access and convenience of payments are barriers to adoption. With this innovation, Airtel is removing those barriers for providing basic insurance to a very large set of India’s population and making the process extremely simple – just recharge your phone and you are insured. We are really excited to join forces with HDFC Life who share our vision of leveraging technology for the good of people and delight customers with meaningful innovation."     

The policy is available for customers between the age of 18 and 54 years. It requires no paperwork or medical examination and the policy or certificate of insurance (CoI) will be instantaneously delivered digitally. A physical copy of the insurance can be provided on request. The entire process is digitally delivered in a matter of few minutes at any Airtel retail store or on MyAirtel app. 

Suresh Badami, Executive Director – HDFC Life, said,  "At HDFC Life, we are constantly looking at creating eco-systems that enable us to improve our reach of insurance products. Two of India’s customer-centric brands have come together to offer this innovative product. I am confident that this tie-up is a great opportunity to make insurance accessible to every Indian. We will continue to create more awareness and bring solutions that help reduce the protection gap in India."

The new Rs 249 prepaid plan is available to customers across India.