Visa Debit and Credit card holders will now be able to pay their insurance premiums in a much comfortable way. As many as 20 insurance companies have tied up with Visa so as to enable premium payment for both life insurance and general insurance policies.

The companies participating in this tie up are Aegon Religare, Bajaj Allianz Life, Bajaj Allianz General, Bharti AXA Life, Birla Sunlife, Future Generali, HDFC Ergo, ICICI Lombard, ICICI Prudential Life, IDBI Fortis, ING Vysya Life, Kotak Life, Max New York Life, Metlife, Reliance General, Reliance Life, Royal Sundaram, SBI Life, Tata AIG General and Tata AIG Life.

Customers having policies with these companies can now pay their premiums online using through the website www.visabillpay.in or the participating insurance company websites, Visa said.

Previously the modes of premium payment available were check pick up, cash/ cheque etc.

Other than the internet there are other facilities too that are covered in the process. Customers can make payments over the phone through the call centers of their insurance companies or can instruct their banks to make regular payment of their premiums through their Visa cards.

The insurance companies will be benefited as their operational efficiency would increase due to timely receipt of insurance premiums. The other benefits that would be achieved by the insurance companies are reduced handling costs due to automated payment process. Thus the customer service would be increased and so would his perception.