Google India’s Megna Shankaranarayanan on why insurance needs a makeover

"Let me start this by flipping it and asking you, do you have life insurance?" says Megna Shankaranarayanan, Head of Industry, FinTech at Google India, with a smile that’s part invitation, part provocation. As the guest of the latest edition of e4m TechTalk, she is not here to pitch a product, but to decode one of the most emotionally complex and digitally dynamic categories in the Indian financial ecosystem: insurance.

Shankaranarayanan leads Google India’s partnerships in the FinTech space and brings a rare cocktail of industry insights, behavioral data, and sheer storytelling finesse to the table. “Insurance in India is still an underpenetrated category,” she explains. “During COVID, we hit our highest penetration rate of about 4.2%. But last year, we were back to 3.7%. Compare that to the global average of 7%, or developed countries that range between 11 to 12%, we’re far behind.”

Part of the challenge, she says, is the very nature of the product. “When you typically make a purchase, there’s gratification. When you buy insurance, you get a PDF. A very complex PDF. And you hope against hope that you never have to use it.” That gap between emotional intent and transactional inertia is what makes insurance not just a financial product, but a psychological one.

Shankaranarayanan points out that Indian consumers today go through up to five touchpoints before committing to a policy. “They spend one to two weeks just researching, and they consider up to four brands before making a decision. Even then, 60% are switchers. They change brands at renewal.” But what’s changed the game in recent years is the collapse of information asymmetry. “YouTube has been a massive equalizer. People are using video to understand the what, the why, and the how before they commit,” she adds.

In fact, Shankaranarayanan drops a statistic that may surprise the jaded digital marketer. “Seventy percent of insurance consumers are omnichannel. Twenty-five percent use only digital touchpoints. Five percent are completely offline. And one in two consumers tells us that without digital, they can’t confidently make a decision.”

But the digital lens needs nuance. Shankaranarayanan is quick to point out how gender plays into decision-making. “Women look for emotional comfort. They want to know if their preferred hospital is covered. Men, on the other hand, are more concerned about the breadth of the network. Women also prefer lower premiums, while men sometimes look at it as an investment and optimize for better returns.” Contrary to common assumptions, price is not the prime motivator. “Cheapest option is not even in the top ten, it’s the 12th. The top motivator? Highest claim settlement rate.”

So how do marketers break through this fog of complexity and emotion? Shankaranarayanan believes the answer lies in content and context, noting, “In the last two years, video consumption has exploded. In 2023, 40% of our consumers preferred video. Today, it’s 60%. Influencers are key players now. One in three consumers considers their opinion before buying. Women especially respond to vernacular influencers, while Gen Z gravitates toward digital-first journeys with online sign-up and zero paperwork.”

This shift in user behavior demands a different kind of strategy from insurance marketers. “You have to know your cohorts deeply, their motivations, their journeys. You need to personalize your messaging, and you need to be present consistently during that two to four week research window,” she says.

Shankaranarayanan also sees AI-powered solutions as critical enablers. “Products like Performance Max and Demand Gen help you stay visible across this fragmented journey.”

When asked how Google’s ecosystem supports this shift, Shankaranarayanan offers a peek into the intertwined behavior of today’s digital consumer, saying, “They’re searching, scrolling, streaming, and shopping, all across Google Search and YouTube.” She illustrates a typical consumer flow. “On Search, they’ll type HDFC life insurance premium. On YouTube, they’ll search for how to pay it on mobile. If they’re in mid-funnel, they might look for 'LIC premium calculator' on Search and 'SBI life insurance policies in Telugu' on YouTube. And yes, vernacular is huge.”

She adds that 84% of all YouTube users say they come to the platform for education. For Gen Z, that number is 81%. “The journey is not linear. People ping-pong between Search, YouTube, aggregators, price comparison sites, even Gemini. I personally use Gemini to upload long policy documents and ask questions. That’s how real-time and personal this process has become.”

Shankaranarayanan underscores that the traditional always-on strategy still holds value but needs expansion. “Search has always been a mainstay, high intent, best conversion, best efficiency. But now, app-first brands are using Universal App Campaigns to upsell or push subcategories like motor and travel insurance. Web-first advertisers are leaning into Performance Max and Demand Gen to cover the entire funnel.”

She also points out that seasonality still drives spikes. “Brands go all-in from Jan to March when people are closing financial books. July to September sees another bump around tax returns. So YouTube and connected TV become platforms for brand trust and emotional recall.”

And then comes the inevitable buzzword, AI. But Shankaranarayanan’s take is refreshingly grounded. “Google products have been AI-first for years. What’s changed now is speed and scale. AI-generated creatives bring down costs, improve personalization, and boost conversions. Combine that with smart bidding and automated inventory decisions, and you’ve got a winning formula.”

She drops a couple of case studies to back this up. “PolicyBazaar moved beyond search to try PerfMax (Performance Max). They saw a 12% increase in lead-to-sale and a 15% drop in cost per booking. Acko tried PerfMax and Broad Match, 34% incremental conversions at 9% lower CPA.”

As the conversation winds down, Shankaranarayanan’s optimism remains palpable. “Our GML announcements just went live globally. India will follow in a month. We’re already thinking about what’s next.” Spoken like someone who’s not just mapping the future of FinTech but quietly building it.