LIC is getting street smart. It has taken to the streets, literally, and is all set to speak the language of the masses of rural India through the street plays it has been organizing for the rural folk. What better way to convince the rural folk?

Street plays with local people performing skits with overtones on the importance of insurance and the disadvantages of not being covered adequately will hit the right chord. But for a mammoth 44 year old organization as huge as LIC is it even more easier to initiate brand recall and find takers for its products considering the brand equity it already enjoys - an asset be it in urban or rural India.

With private insurers tearing into LIC stronghold the latter is trying ways and means to retain dominance. While it scores on the government guarantee factor and brand value its products lacked customization which off late has been addressed. Talk of rural India and private insurers have a long way to go. With the cream business being urban folk, private insurers are known to have only been doing the stipulated bit to cater to the rural folk.

But if you thought private insurers have yet not stepped in to hawk risk products in rural areas you could be wrong. If its street plays for LIC it is e-choupal for private insurers. E-choupal introduced by ITC, the traditional tobacco and cigarette company is perhaps India's answer to Wal-Mart of the US albeit a little differently.

The e-choupal network model, a distribution network has connected a number of remote villages in four States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in order to enable easy procurement and distribution of FMCG products. The model aims at providing every required data to the village farmer on commodity prices, weather updates or any other and aims to change the lives of over 20 million people. As of now it covers 6,000 villages only and soon about 1 lakh villages will be covered.

The model, since it touches rural India in a fairly major way is expected to be explored by big companies targeting the hinterland to spread their distribution network. And insurance companies cannot be left behind. ICICI Pru Life and LIC are already selling their risk covers through e-choupal and several others are still exploring the possibilities.

Options of selling non-life covers are also being explored. Among others this would include crop insurance, weather insurance covers and several other that can be tailor-made to suit the changing needs of the farmer.

With increase in awareness levels on insurance be it addressing sale of the farmers produce, the quality, quantity or finding suitable markets or even selling his product at the right price. For all these and a lot more may be rural India will turn to insurance for cover.