SBI General Insurance CFO Jitendra Attra On Growth And Digital Transformation

SBI General Insurance, a fast-growing private general insurance company backed by the State Bank of India. Since its inception in 2009, SBI General Insurance has rapidly expanded its presence, boasting over 143 branches nationwide today. The company has shown remarkable growth, achieving a 17 per cent increase in Gross Written Premium (GWP) for FY 2023-24, amounting to Rs 12,731 crores. Recognised for excellence with multiple industry awards, SBI General Insurance continues to lead with a focus on technological innovation, financial efficiency and customer trust.

In this conversation, Jitendra Atta, CFO, SBI General Insurance sheds light on the company’s journey, the role of data analytics in financial reporting and how digital tools are shaping the future of financial planning and decision-making at SBI General Insurance.

How has SBI General Insurance streamlined financial analysis and reporting through enhanced data analytics and automation? What specific improvements have been noted?

At SBI General, we have been consistently growing faster than the market. The company has registered a strong growth with GWP of Rs 12,731 crores in FY 23- 24, in just 14 years of operations. Our financial results reflect our commitment to building long-term value through profitable growth for stakeholders.

Data is a crucial element of our business operations at SBI General Insurance. We have significantly streamlined our financial analysis and reporting by leveraging advanced data warehouse capabilities and high-end reporting tools. This architecture ensures all data is centralised, allowing us to automate many reports and achieve a granular level of detail. 

Specific improvements include enhanced accuracy, as automated reporting minimises human error, ensuring more reliable data. Increased efficiency is another benefit, with automation speeding up the reporting process and allowing for quicker decision-making. Comprehensive insights are gained through granular data analysis, enabling us to uncover trends and patterns that were previously difficult to detect. Additionally, better resource allocation is achieved, as improved data analysis helps us allocate resources more effectively, enhancing overall business performance. These advancements have not only improved our financial reporting accuracy and efficiency but also empowered us with actionable insights for strategic decision-making. 

Could you elaborate on the integration of digital tools at SBI General Insurance for agile financial planning and real-time insights? How have these tools impacted decision-making processes? 

 At SBI General Insurance, we’ve seamlessly integrated digital tools to improve agile financial planning and offer real-time insights. Our partners use applications for data input, which is automatically integrated into our database without manual intervention.

We have various systems at the backend to process the data. We utilise advanced reporting and analytical tools to analyse and process this information. This integration significantly boosts our financial planning capabilities and enables more informed and efficient decision-making.

What digital platforms has SBI General Insurance adopted to ensure accurate financial reporting, compliance and transparency? Can you share any successes or challenges in implementing these platforms?

We utilise several digital platforms to ensure accurate financial reporting, compliance and transparency. These include BI tools, finance tools, SaaS based products and procurement tools. 

The primary challenge we face in implementing these platforms is maintaining agility in a dynamic and constantly evolving environment to avoid delays in delivery. However, our architecture is designed to support these challenges, enabling us to overcome obstacles efficiently.

As for successes, these platforms have significantly enhanced our ability to generate accurate financial reports, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and improve transparency across operations. They have also streamlined processes and decision-making, leading to more effective business outcomes.

How are digital systems optimising controls, audits and financial process management within the organisation? What benefits have these optimisations yielded?

Digital systems play a crucial role in optimising controls, audits and financial process management within our organisation. They offer multiple benefits such as ensuring high quality and robust controls, cost-effectiveness, reduced manpower requirements and improved productivity. Additionally, these systems make processes seamless, leading to enhanced operational efficiency. 

We have experienced significant benefits from these optimisations, including improved accuracy in audits, streamlined financial processes and better management of controls. This has resulted in increased efficiency, reduced operational costs and a more agile and responsive organisational structure. We are continually enhancing these digital systems to further maximise these benefits and drive ongoing improvements in our operations.

Could you discuss areas of investment that SBI General Insurance believes will drive innovation, efficiency and sustainability in the coming years?

Our major investments will be in technology and distribution, aimed at accelerating growth and enhancing operational efficiency. We are scaling our business to new heights to capitalise on the positive economic outlook. Simultaneously, we are investing in technology capabilities to enhance our core operations and digital functionalities. Additionally, leveraging AI and ML technologies will drive innovation, improve efficiency and contribute to sustainability efforts within our organisation. These strategic investments align with our vision for continuous improvement and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving market landscape.