Role of E-Commerce in Insurance Industry

Abstract

E-commerce consists of buying and selling of products and services over electronic systems such as the internet and other computer networks. E-commerce is a commercial activity dealing directly with the trading of goods and services and with other related business activities, in which the electronic communication medium plays a central role. These activities include the communication of information, the management of payment, the negotiating and trading of financial instruments and the management of transport. The e-business can be used for three primary processes which help to enhance the business and they are; • The Production Process • Customer Centric Process • Employee Centric Process The production processes is the first which include procurement, ordering and replenishment of stocks; processing of payments; electronic links with suppliers; and production control processes, among others. The second is customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing efforts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers purchase orders and payments, and customer support, among others. An internal management process The third includes employee services, training, internal information-sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. Generally electronic applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. The purpose of this paper is to find the benefits, challenges and success of e-commerce with special reference to Life Insurance Corporation of India.