“It’s always better to have insurance and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
This simple yet powerful idea is at the heart of the General Insurance Council’s Achha Kiya Insurance Liya campaign — a movement designed to make insurance relatable and trustworthy for millions across India.
The media conference for the campaign launch was held on May 28, 2025, in Mumbai, marking a significant step in a three-year journey to expand insurance awareness far beyond the usual urban centres and into rural India. With a long-term vision stretching to 2047, the initiative aims for full-scale insurance adoption nationwide. A goal that is bold and that reflects the critical need to prepare for life’s uncertainties.
Opening the event, Inderjeet Singh, Secretary General of the General Insurance Council, set the tone by highlighting the campaign’s deeper purpose. He stressed that the event isn’t just about marketing; it’s about driving a fundamental behavioural shift in how people perceive and value insurance.
Following Mr. Singh’s remarks, Tapan Singhel, Chairman of the General Insurance Council and MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, took the stage to underline why boosting insurance awareness in India is more urgent than ever. He used a striking metaphor to describe India's current insurance landscape—a ‘leaking bucket,’ where uninsured disasters pull the economy backward. Contrasting this with developed countries, where calamities can sometimes trigger economic growth, he said, “In India, it pushes the GDP back.” He challenged outdated perceptions by reminding the audience that insurance is not merely about collecting premiums. “We are not a money-making machine,” he emphasised, reinforcing that the industry’s purpose goes well beyond business.
With heartfelt conviction, he stated, “This campaign is not just a campaign. It’s an endeavour to make a difference for the country.” His words captured the deeper mission behind the initiative: to drive nationwide impact and enable meaningful change.
Building on this, Mr. Deepak Sood, Member (Non-Life) at IRDAI, reinforced the campaign’s importance by focusing on insurance’s role in protecting the most vulnerable. He acknowledged the challenge individual insurers face in running large-scale awareness campaigns alone, praising this collective industry effort as a crucial step toward “Insurance for All by 2047.” He outlined the three pillars essential to this vision: awareness, affordability, and accessibility. He highlighted how risks are constantly evolving, and public understanding must evolve as well, making this campaign timely and impactful.
The event then transitioned into a dynamic panel discussion titled ‘Unlocking India’s Insurance Potential: Strategies for Deeper Market Penetration and Financial Inclusion,’ moderated by Mr. Tapan Singhel. The session featured industry voices including Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company; Anuj Tyagi, MD and CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance; and Shanai Ghosh, MD & CEO, ZUNO General Insurance. The discussion revolved around the challenges and opportunities in expanding insurance coverage across India, emphasizing the importance of technology, customer education, and building trust to enhance financial inclusion.
Following the insightful panel discussion, the spotlight shifted to the campaign’s vibrant and refreshing marketing strategy — one that truly made insurance feel approachable. The ‘Achha Kiya Insurance Liya’ campaign broke conventional boundaries by introducing a quirky set of characters: Barfi, Oscar, Chulbuli, Billi, and Paaji — not fictional mascots, but actual pets including dogs, cats, and even a goldfish. These animals brought a light, comforting presence to the campaign, acting as warm third-person observers who made the subject of insurance less intimidating and more emotionally accessible with real-life situations.
The campaign was executed with a high-energy six-week television plan, seamlessly integrating across prime-time shows, Bollywood movies, music blocks, news segments and most significantly, the IPL. But what gave it staying power was its extensive out-of-home (OOH) presence. Billboards, banners, and posters across cities and towns acted as constant visual reminders, reinforcing the campaign’s message wherever people went. This clever combination of mass reach and emotional relatability tied together with a recall-worthy tagline ensured the campaign didn’t just inform but connected.
Launching the campaign during the IPL season was a strategic masterstroke, as cricket is religion for India. This session by Ketan Mankikar from Zuno, Somesh Chandra from HDFC Ergo and Sapna Desai from ManipalCigna, walked the audience through the journey of transforming insurance narrative from fear to foresight. Mr. Mankikar emphasised that the real success of ‘Achha Kiya Insurance Liya’ lay in how it made insurance feel like an act of care, not a response to crisis. Mr. Chandra, presented insights on the campaign's reach and impact. The multi-platform rollout from TV and print to OOH, digital, and rural activation was detailed out.
The campaign targeted a reach of 800 million people and it successfully penetrated more than 200 markets, and was advertised at more than 1,200+ touchpoints in rural India in 12 different languages. ‘Achha Kiya Insurance Liya’ is more than just a campaign, it’s a step towards reshaping how India perceives insurance. A combination of emotional storytelling and strategic outreach, makes insurance feel like a smart, everyday decision. With a long-term vision of ‘Insurance for All by 2047,’ this initiative is spreading awareness as well as building trust and provoking real change. It’s no longer just about policies, it's about protecting lives, dreams, and futures.
