Display to 30 April 2019
CAPTURING MILLENNIAL MAGNATES
TRANSAMERICA LIFE BERMUDA’S PRESIDENT & CEO MARC LIEBERMAN REVEALS HOW TO CAPTIVATE THE NEW GENERATION OF MILLIONAIRES IN ASIA
ASIA’S INSuRANCE GAP WIDENS TO $134b WHAT CAN INSuRERS lEARN FROM CHINA’S TECH GIANTS? SINGAPORE INSuRERS GO All OuT ON DIGITAl INSuRANCE ClAIMS IN 2 SECONDS? PRuDENTIAl SAyS IT’S POSSIblE
FROM THE EDITOR Publisher & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tim Charlton
In this issue, we feature an exclusive interview with the President and CEO of TransAmerica Life Bermuda, Marc Lieberman. He talks about how he sees Hong Kong’s insurance sector developing with digitalisation, how they plan to capture the growing market of a new High Net Worth (HNW) generation, and their goals in the coming years.
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Rochelle Romero production editor Genelie Sta-Ana-De Leon GRAPHIC ARTIST Elizabeth Indoy
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In Singapore, Over the last year, there has been a lot of focus on innovation and digitalisation across the entire insurance value chain. With the launch of AIA Singapore’s humanoid robots Pepper and Nadine, the market should closely watch out for more digitalonly insurers, new-age, digital insurance products and offerings incorporating AI- and blockchain technologies. Meanwhile, APAC insurers are also banking on tech to speed up claims. Prudential, for one, has reportedly built an AI system equipped with a chatbot that handles insurance claims management, reducing the claims processing time in Hong Kong from nine days to 2.3 seconds. This issue also bears the coverage of the Insurance Asia Awards 2018. Celebrated by around 250 guests, over 30 companies from more than 20 countries were lauded for their innovation and awardwinning strategies. What does it take to be an award-winning firm? Flip the pages to find out. Enjoy the issue!
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Tim Charlton
CONTENTS
12
CEO INTERVIEW Transamerica Life Bermuda reveals how it captivates the new HNW generation
16
analysis APAC insurers to bank on blockchain, cutting-edge tech for 2019 growth
18
EVENT COVERAGE Here are the biggest game changers lauded at the Insurance Asia Awards 2018
country report
FIRST
OPINION
04 Asia’s insurance gap widens
14 Singapore’s insurance space
26 The journey towards successful
to $134b
takes off with digital offerings
implementation of IFRS 17
05 Lessons from China’s tech leaders 06 Millennials drive growing
life insurance net
08 Here’s why Asian insurers should
embrace personalised marketing
Published bi-annually on the second week of the month by Charlton Media Group 101 Cecil St. #17-09 Tong Eng Building 2 INSURANCE SingaporeASIA 069533
For the online versions of the insurance stories, visit the website
insuranceasia.com
Insurance You Can Rely On
Asian Banking and Finance Domestic General Insurer of the Year-Myanmar 2017, 2018 Domestic Life Insurer of the Year-Myanmar 2017, 2018 World Finance Best General Insurance Company in Myanmar 2015, 2016. Best Life Insurance Company in Myanmar 2015, 2016
FIRST first commercial cyber risk pool
Singapore is forming the world’s first commercial cyber risk pool in an effort to strengthen the country’s resilience in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, finance minister Heng Swee Keat said at the 15th Singapore International Reinsurance Conference. “The pool will commit up to $1b in capacity, and bring together both traditional insurance and insurancelinked securities markets to provide bespoke cyber coverage,” he said. Asia is at the center of malicious cyberactivity with Heng noting that hackers are 80% more likely to prey on organisations in Asia. However, corporates in the region take 1.7 times longer than the global average to discover cyber breaches and more than 60% of companies do not have proper cyberthreat monitoring systems in place. “On the insurance front, insurance coverage of cyber risks remains very low globally, due to a lack of historical data and intelligence to support risk assessment, underwriting and pricing. As a result, most policies have too many exclusions,” lamented Heng. Increased protection So far, twenty insurance firms have expressed interest to participate in the pool which would beef up the protection of corporates in ASEAN and Asia against cyber-related losses. Heng also called on more industry players to participate in the joint effort.The setting up of the GlobalAsia Insurance Partnership centre for excellence which aims to gather insurance players, regulators, and academics was also announced. The platform aims to be a living lab developing cybersolutions, regulatory think tank, and talent development pillar. The move comes on the heels of the establishment of the ASEANSingapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence in August which will build up the cyber strategy development, legislation, research capabilities of ASEAN member states.
4 INSURANCE ASIA
Indonesia was most vulnerable to risks such as climate change amongst surveyed countries, with each person having less than 1% insurance penetration rate. It also noted that one potential area for improvement in addressing the gap is in cyber liability insurance, which remained undervalued by firms despite the rise of high-profile data breach incidents. “Companies and organisations often give precedence to traditional forms of protection such as property, in the belief that cybersecurity is an IT matter and best dealt with using digital tools,” the report said. “In addition, insurance cover is generally determined by the risk an organisation faces. Unfortunately, the potential impact of data loss and associated revenue is hard to quantify, as there is limited historical information available,” it added. Amongst sectors, real estate was The insurance gap in Asia widened by 9.4% to $134b found to be the best insured with a 0.74% industrial insurance penetration rate, up from 0.59% in 2012. It is followed by transportation and storage at 0.60%; and by agriculture, forestry and fishing, although both were down ASIA more than 10 percentage points from China, in hilst the insurance gap their 2012 levels. absolute globally narrowed slightly “There are several factors holding terms, posted over the past year, it had back customers from buying more the highest widened in Asia, with China posting insurance gap of insurance and closing the insurance the largest gap in absolute value gap. There is a lack of understanding $76b, or 6% of amongst the 43 countries surveyed of the value of insurance; too often GDP. in the latest Lloyd’s underinsurance it is seen as a discretionary cost, a report. The insurance gap worldwide nice-to-have rather than a must-have,” dipped 3% to $163b from $168b Lloyd’s noted in its report. “Even if in 2012. However, the gap in Asia customers see the value of insurance, widened by 9.4% to $134b from in some cases they can’t afford it. And $122.5b over the same period. sometimes the products available Eighteen countries registered don’t exactly meet the risk needs of the insurance gaps, with nine of these customer.” found in Asia. China, in absolute terms, posted the highest insurance Global underinsurance (% of GDP / $bn) gap of $76b, or 6% of GDP, due to the size of its economy and its still-developing insurance market, followed by India and Indonesia. “It is concerning that whilst the global insurance gap is closing, in Asia it is widening at a rapid rate owing to the increasing threat of natural disasters and the region’s economic growth,” said Iain Ferguson, acting CEO for Asia Pacific at Lloyd’s. The report warned that Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Source: Lloyd’s Report
Asia’s insurance gap widens to $134b
W
FIRST Ant Financial, for one, is building an online aggregation portal that enable visitors to compare prices from various auto insurance providers.
Ant Financial has developed an AI-powered tool that can assess vehicular damage
Lessons from China’s tech leaders
I
china
n October, the Chinese digital titan Tencent launched an online insurance business that served to test the waters. Will insurance buyers feel more enticed to purchase insurance offerings that promise to be tailor-fit to their specific needs? Such a novel approach from Tencent seems designed to fill a market gap populated by a growing number of dissatisfied insurance customers, according to a recent study Boston Consulting Group. “The insurance industry has room for improvement when it comes to understanding and engaging with its customers,” said Michelle Hu, partner and managing director in Hong Kong at Boston Consulting Group, citing a BCG survey which showed participants were notably less satisfied with their interactions with their insurance company than with those they had with other companies such as banks and retail stores. Aside from Tencent, other leading Chinese technology and financial firms are upgrading their competitive arsenal with innovative products and platforms. Ant Financial, for one, is building an online aggregation portal that enable visitors to compare prices from various auto insurance providers. “Such aggregation services can lead to significant disruption, as
they did in the UK: auto insurers saw intense price competition, which put pressure on profitability,” said Hu. Innovative upgrades Ant Financial has also developed two cutting-edge digital tools for insurers—Ding Sun Bao, an artificial intelligence-driven vehicle damage assessment tool, and Car Insurance Score, which uses big data to assess driver risk based on a range of personal information such as profession and credit history to behavior such as spending and driving habits. Hu reckoned that Ant Financial’s aggregation service and new digital tools could give it a significant boost over other insurance companies. And those lagging behind in the digital innovation race will likely be the most vulnerable to eroding market share and profits. “The scale and reach of digital innovation in China are beyond what we see in any other market. The Chinese insurance market has seen the same pace of innovation,” said Hu, noting that this has started to reshape the competitive landscape. “As a result, insurers engage more directly with customers than in the past and develop offerings that target their unmet needs.” JLT Re, the fourth largest
reinsurance broker globally, said China’s insurance industry is grappling with greater demand for product digitalisation and a technology sector that is emerging as a critical provider of capital and innovation. How insurers adapt Some digitally savvy incumbents are responding with their own initiatives, noted Hu, with Ping An Insurance, Taikang Insurance Group, and Sunshine Insurance teaming up with smaller innovative firms and transforming their enterprise to generate out-of-the-box ideas. She reckoned that China’s tech leaders have found success by training their workforce, leveraging on new technologies to boost operational efficiency, and creating entire ecosystems that multiply the impact of their technology investments such as Taikang’s Health Cloud, a service now available in thousands of nursing homes, dental clinics, and hospitals. “Taikang’s goal is to connect these thousands of ‘data islands’ to create a single customer relationship management system. Once fully in place, the integration of services through CRM will radically improve the customer experience, claims management, and risk control of insurers,” said Hu, stressing the importance of being a digital leader rather than a laggard. “All insurers need to understand is how critical technologies—including big data, cloud computing, AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things—will make innovation possible and how to master and integrate those technologies into their business.”
INSURANCE ASIA
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FIRST Risk and Crisis Management SINGAPORE
Millennials drive growing life insurance net
U
INDONESIA
nlike its regional peers with rapidly ageing populations, the life insurance industry in Indonesia is steadily banking on a younger demographic to boost insurance protection as citizens below the prime age of 30 account for more than half of the country’s population. With more money to burn and riskier appetites, Indonesia’s young demographic is steadily fuelling demand for products that provide a mix of wealth management and insurance protection. In fact, investment-linked products have emerged as the most popular life offering in 2017 after accounting for 57% of net premiums in the life industry’s product mix, data from Moody’s Investors Service show. The millennial-driven push therefore comes as a welcome development to boost the country’s nascent life insurance market where penetration rate stands at a dismal 1.9% as of end-2017 or 6.7% of the country’s population. To capture this tech-savvy and affluent market, industry players are working overtime by forging partnerships and digitising. For instance, Allianz X earlier unveiled a
$35m investment in ride-hailing firm GO-JEK as it aims to distribute a diverse range of policies from health to motor and broaden its channel to the market. FWD Indonesia also had millennials in mind when it launched its mobile app, FWD Max, in February. Through promotions with over 70 partner merchants, FWD aims to support the evolving lifestyle needs of the younger and more mobile demographic. FWD Max also allows consumers to buy insurance on-the-go by enabling users to directly interact with agents via a chat feature. FWD “Quickening adoption and Indonesia acceptance of digital transactions will also had millennials in improve the industry’s underwriting mind when it capacity, lower operation costs, and promote greater price transparency, launched its which could open up opportunities mobile app, FWD Max, in for foreign insurers,” the research firm added. February.
people
Manulife, Peak Re appoint new top executives
Source: Baker McKenzie
6 INSURANCE ASIA
Manulife Holdings Bhd named Sang Hui Lee as group CEO and CEO of Manulife Insurance Bhd. With over 25 years of experience in the life insurance and asset management industries, he is now responsible for Manulife Malaysia operations, including its life insurance, health insurance, wealth management, and retirement solutions businesses. His career began in American Life Sang Hui Lee Insurance in Japan before joining AIG/AIA. Meanwhile, Peak Reinsurance Company Limited appointed David V. Cabral as chief operating officer. He now reports to CEO Franz Josef Hahn and has joined the firm from being a founding member of a start-up reinsurance company. Cabral has more than 35 years of global (re) insurance experience, working in diverse markets in start-ups, in addition to management of claims, risk management, underwriting, operations, and David V. Cabral technology transformation.
FIRST
Here’s why Asian insurers should embrace personalised marketing
B
ASIA
y relating a popular fitness slogan to insurance, Etiqa Insurance Singapore’s targeted marketing campaign, aiming to promote their online insurance savings plans and encourage young professionals to invest in their future, achieved a whopping 187% increase in revenue. And this is just one of the successful cases of personalised marketing strategies several Asian insurers are now adopting to capture the specific market they want to engage. Despite being late to the personalisation game, the insurance industry is sure to benefit from its advantages. According to Mila Adamova, associate partner, McKinsey & Company, in other industries, personalised marketing helped cut acquisition costs by almost half and grew revenues and customer satisfaction by 5-10%, thus increasing marketing returns as well. Adamova added that well thought out strategies are able to create sticky relationships and new opportunities. Across industries, they found out that effective personalisation programmes have four core elements: data foundation, decisioning, design and distribution. At the very beginning, it is important for insurance
companies to know the biggest unmet needs in the customer journey so that they can better time their strategies and messaging. Amidst the onslaught of non-traditional players such as insurtechs, traditional insurance companies are already leveraging personalisation to keep up with competition. For instance, MetLife Hong Kong realised that they could reach a wide number of Hong Kongers by speaking to their identity. They used the campaign slogan “149 reasons #WeLove Hong Kong” across high traffic placements and strategically tailored their content based on the surrounding environment. They acquired a combined audience reach of 3.5 million a month and became the leading insurer on fan base growth rate amongst all other insurance companies in Hong Kong, according to social media analytics company Socialbakers. FWD Vietnam Life Insurance, meanwhile, specifically targeted young professionals familiar with digital technologies by partnering with Tuổi Trẻ newspaper in holding a real-time chat using VR technology. The initiative demonstrated FWD’s exclusion list, which is dubbed to be the simplest in the industry. Furthermore,
MetLife Hong Kong launched its #WeLoveHongKong campaign
FWD became the first insurer in Vietnam to launch digitally monitored Grab and Uber wrapping, resulting in a coverage of 5 million miles with impressions of around 614 million. However, insurance companies must take great precaution before diving into the world of personalised marketing, as poorly done approaches can be seen by customers as bombastic promo offerings that are not too different from spam. Adamova said that for insurers to know that they are on the right track, they have to put in place the appropriate business processes that allow them to test scenarios using available data and analytics. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the personalisation game, however, insurers are free to explore a variety of marketing tools and experiment until they find the perfect strategies for their customers.
Blockchain consortium for insurance enters Asia special report
Nearly 20% of global spending on blockchain in 2018 is from Asia Pacific, a factor that drove blockchain consortium The Institutes RiskBlock Alliance to expand their footprint in the region. APAC also does not have a dedicated local consortium for insurance and risk management markets, leaving its thriving insurance sector with no representation. RiskBlock Alliance aims to fill in this gap, as the blockchain applications that will best help Asia Pacific’s insurers may be different from the first applications in other industries or in other parts of the world. The 31-member consortium, composed of global insurance carriers, brokers, reinsurers, and educational institutions, believes that it is capable of helping its members decide the appropriate solutions they want to develop. United in blockchain Christopher McDaniel, president, RiskBlock Alliance, said that the consortium can particularly support initiatives in cross-border payments and settlements, especially since many insurers in the region are dabbling in this area. The consortium 8 INSURANCE ASIA
is open to supporting Life, Property & Casualty, and Reinsurance sectors, as it endeavours to cover all areas of the region’s insurance market. “Creating a blockchain for this through a consortium can streamline the development of this technology, enabling members to synchronise disparate data from various sources and protecting said data and proprietary Christopher McDaniel, president, information of insurers and the insureds through RiskBlock Alliance robust security measures,” McDaniel said. RiskBlock is also offering the insurance industry’s first standardised blockchain framework called Canopy, which allows multiple applications to be built on a common set of blockchains. McDaniel added that this enables the creation of a collaborative ecosystem similar to the model used by mobile phone companies, where parties can create apps for the platform’s app store. McDaniel said that now is the perfect time for Asia Pacific’s insurers to leverage blockchain technology through a more concerted and RiskBlock is also offering the insurance industry’s first collaborative effort, as the region is poised to standardised blockchain framework called Canopy grow and expand in insurtech.
Asian banks leading innovation will meet at the Retail Banking Asia Summit in Singapore on 30th and 31st of October. For the first time, discover the most innovative banks in Asia at the Efma Awards Ceremony. Efma thanks its members that are leading innovation: Alliance Bank, ASB Bank, AYA Bank, Bangkok Bank, Bank BRI, Bank Central Asia, CIMB Group, DBS Bank, GSB Bank, Kasikornbank , KTB Bank, Maybank, Mizuho Financial Group, MUFJ Bank, PNB, Robinsons Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank of Philippines, XacBank Meet those leaders at RBAS – Shangri La Singapore. Registration: www.efma.com/rbas18
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A new generation of HNWIs is on the rise, signaling a shift in mindset and wealth management priorities towards liquidity and returns, and to insurance as a wealth creation tool.
Marc Lieberman President & CEO Transamerica Life Bermuda
INTERVIEW
Transamerica Life Bermuda reveals how it captivates the new HNW generation
Its Universal Life Alpha offers competitive pricing, higher flexibility, and long term cash value growth potential.
M
arc Lieberman, Transamerica Life Bermuda’s president and chief executive officer, is responsible for driving the insurer’s overall growth, strategic planning, and management of the company’s day-to-day operations across Asia. In this exclusive interview with Insurance Asia, Lieberman talks about how he sees Hong Kong’s insurance sector developing with digitalisation, how they plan to capture the growing market of a new High Net Worth (HNW) generation, and their goals in the coming years.
of deep consumer insights will help us continue to develop and provide innovative, tailored financial solutions for our HNW customers. Tell us about your new products that are specifically designed to cater to your client’s needs. As Asia’s wealth transitions between generations, a new generation of HNWIs is on the rise, signaling a shift in mindset and wealth management priorities towards liquidity and returns, and to insurance as a wealth creation tool. Unlike traditional HNWIs (age 55 and above) in Asia who have built their wealth through business, the new generation of HNWIs (age 31 - 50) may be more likely to have built their wealth through investments. In the current volatile and less certain economic environments, they may look to balance their preference for returns with much needed liquidity and stability. In response to this, Transamerica Life Bermuda launched a new universal life plan in March 2017 called Universal Life Alpha (ULA). Specifically designed to meet the distinct needs of the new HNW generation, ULA offers, amongst other benefits, competitive pricing, high flexibility, and long term cash value growth potential. Attributes valued by the new HNW generation when considering universal life policies for estate and business succession planning. In fact, our ULA was recognised with the top award for “New Insurance Product of the Year - Hong Kong” at the 2018 Insurance Asia Awards held in July.
What is your outlook on Hong Kong’s insurance sector and where does Transamerica Life Bermuda stand on it? Hong Kong’s insurance market, whilst very strong for many years, has experienced a bit of a slowdown in its growth rate over 2017 and into 2018. We expect this market cycle to continue through 2018 and quite possibly into 2019. Overall, however, we expect Hong Kong will continue to be a highly competitive and desirable market in Asia for life insurance sales. As the only pure HNW life insurer in Hong Kong, we remain very optimistic for the future of HNW life insurance and our position in this market. How do you ensure customer-centricity amidst the changes digitalisation is making in the industry? Transamerica Life Bermuda is actively developing its digital capabilities to ensure it remains competitive and provides the most up to date products and services for its policyholders. HNW life insurance is much more complex than traditional retail life insurance and very often involves multiple parties including private banks, brokers, and insurance companies. Because of this, it is imperative that we continue to develop new ways to drive more value to the customer allowing for more transparency and greater value. How are you planning to leverage the growing HNW market in Hong Kong to reinforce your position as an innovative insurance leader? According to a 2018 Wealth-X study of global private wealth, the world’s ultra-high net worth (UHNW) population rose by 12.9% in 2017 to 255,810 people, a sharp acceleration from a year earlier. The study also noted that Hong Kong and its wealth creation, boosted by enhanced links with mainland China, replaced New York as the city with the largest ultra-wealthy population. Transamerica Life Bermuda, with its headquarters in Hong Kong and with over 85 years of experience in Asia and a singular focus on the HNW segment, is very wellplaced to service this growing population of UHNW and HNW individuals. In addition, we continually conduct targeted consumer research to gain additional key insights into the needs and preferences of the HNW customer. We feel that our depth of expertise and growing accumulation
We continually conduct targeted consumer research to gain additional key insights into the needs and preferences of the HNW customer.
How has Transamerica Life Bermuda progressed under your leadership? I am very proud of the job that the Transamerica Life Bermuda team has done since I joined 2 ½ years ago. We have developed new products with greater customer value and transparency, we have upgraded many of our systems and processes to ensure quicker turnaround times and better service to our customers and intermediaries. We have rolled out new customer appreciation programmes like TLB Eminence to provide new levels of service to our customers. Our employee retention rate has fallen to all-time lows which I believe shows the work and focus we are putting in to create a positive work environment for our employees as well. All of this is due to an extremely dedicated and talented leadership team that lead by example in building a company we can all be proud of. What specific goals are you focussed on in the next three to five years? We are very focussed on our continued geographic expansion and rounding out our product offerings to include other types of insurance products specifically developed for the HNW insurance client. INSURANCE ASIA
13
Country report: Singapore
AIA Singapore’s humanoid robot Pepper
Singapore’s insurance space takes off with digital offerings Despite being late to the game, the industry has been fast catching-up with the rest of the world.
W
hen AIA Singapore launched Pepper and Nadine in October, the move signalled a greater leap of the highly-traditional insurance sector into the artificial intelligence space. Pepper and Nadine, unveiled at AIA Singapore’s digitally-enable customer service centre at Finlayson Green, are humanoids capable of perceiving emotions and adapting their behaviours to respond in an appropriate manner. Over the last year, there has been a lot of focus on innovation and digitalisation across the entire insurance value chain. According to Prasanna Patil, associate partner for insurance, Oliver Wyman, several leading MNC and regional insurers have set-up tech and innovation hubs on the back of Singapore’s overall vision to become a hotbed for insurtech and fintech in Southeast Asia. According to him, the market 14 INSURANCE ASIA
should closely watch out for digitalonly insurers, new-age, digital insurance products and offerings incorporating AI- and blockchain technologies. The Singaporean government has been extremely supportive of innovation, making available strong financial and institutional support for companies choosing to go digital. As customer expectations and preferences evolved, Singapore’s insurance scene also flourished with new business models and entrepreneurship emerging, such as peer-to-peer insurance or community-based insurance. “Insurers in Singapore who are catching up on their digital agenda, have looked to new technologies such as Application Program Interfaces (API), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), to enable them to offer new products or services. APIs, for instance,
Insurers in Singapore who are catching up on their digital agenda, have looked to new technologies such as Application Program Interfaces (API), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), to enable them to offer new products
have been adopted in the areas of digital payments and have allowed insurers to reduce reliance on cheque payments and offer real-time, instantaneous claims payout,” said Michael Gourlay, chief executive officer, MSIG Singapore. Nonetheless, challenges remain with the continued rise in healthcare costs in the city. On top of that, Patil added that Singapore’s insurance market remains small and continues to grow slowly, whilst insurers seeking to expand in the region grapple with regulatory constraints in South and Southeast Asia. “Recent changes to the Integrated Shield plan designs, seeking to partially shift the burden and responsibility of health spend from the payers insurers and Government into the hands of insureds (consumers), is a key development and needs to be monitored closely by all stakeholders, particularly the
Country report: Singapore regulators, to ensure that the interests of all sections of society are balanced,” Patil said. The city’s Smart Nation ambition has been driving significant change across various industries, insurance included. The space has seen the rise of chatbots as an additional customerfacing channel, in order to address customers’ hunger for convenience and meet evolving expectations and preferences. Gourlay said that where IoT is concerned, more are expanding insurance to real-time protection through connected devices such as telematics and wearables, with some insurers rewarding customers who have lowered risks. According to Gourlay, those running on legacy systems will find it increasingly difficult to meet present-day needs, and eventually they will have to succumb to pressures to allocate greater budgets for digitalisation. Technology-driven “Singapore insurers have been one of the most active sectors in adopting new technologies including telematics, artificial intelligence, robotics as well as testing the proof of concepts for blockchain and smart contracts. MSIG has invested in some of these technologies and will continue to do so in areas where it can enhance customer experience, bring about intelligent automation for its processes and build digital connectivities with its distribution partners,” he said. Whilst many traditional insurers think that they are delivering growth through existing channels just fine, several also believe that innovation is important if they are to ride the waves of disruption and come out alive. The next generations of users will be mobile- and digital-only in nature, hence insurers must start preparing for them. “Some of the main trends we see happening in Singapore and elsewhere in the region include a move by more insurers to offer more personalised, context-relevant Insurance solutions to customers. Some have also started offering usage-based or on-demandinsurance, made possible through the collection of data via IoT devices or mobile phones, for example,” said
Divyesh Vithlani, head of financial services in ASEAN, Accenture. Consumers who want more personalised and granular insurance also want it simple, cheap, and easy to buy, hence they are happier to interact with technology rather than people. More than anything, this generation of consumers value experiences, services, and products delivered in a hyper-personalised way that adapts to every customer real-time regardless of time and place. Personalised approach “Whilst we focus on digitalisation, we ensure we maintain the personal touch and care that is crucial to enhance customer service and experience. The introduction of humanoids, Nadine and Pepper, at our customer service centres is a good example where they are able to engage and respond to general enquiries, leaving our customer service representatives to concentrate on more complex queries and transactions in a more personal and high touch manner,” said Patrick Teow, chief executive officer, AIA Singapore. AIA Singapore has also come up with apps such as iResource, which features personalised sales information including games and a visual benefits illustrator that helps customers better understand their financial coverage. Teow said that the future of insurance is expected to be more intricately personalised to suit every individual, as techniology drives the shift towards more tailored policies for insurers to remain competitive. Vithlani said that at this point, offerings are limited mostly to the insurance space, at least in the city state. He said that what lies ahead may be seen in what is already taking place in other parts of the world, such as Singapore, where MSIG and Anapi collaborated on a flight delay insurance that offers cashless claims settlement. He added that another example is the Great Eastern offering of an AI-powered wellness coach. Behind all the important innovations being implemented are the employees that ensure everything works as intended. According to
Gourlay, insurers are aware that their employees also need to jump into the digital landscape whilst employers have the responsibility to train and develop their employees’ skills. Prasanna Patil
Michael Gourlay
Divyesh Vithlani
Patrick Teow
Building trust For instance, MSIG has sponsored cross-functional projects, digital and innovation learning programmes like Skillsfuture and also collaboration tools like Office 365 to bring their people along on their digital journey. As insurers develop their teams’ capacities, some are also simultaneously working with startups and insurtechs who can bring the necessary tech skills to help improve the value chain. Teow said that AIA has been working with tech startups to build strong insurtech foundations internally. For example, they were able to successfully create their chatbot through the help of a startup they mentored in their AIA Accelerator Programme. As insurers aim to go digital, they are also exposed to the needs of other industries that dabble heavily in tech. According to Teow, there has been a heightened demand for cyber risk insurance, thus driving insurers to gear up their product development efforts to meet client needs for cyber risk coverage. Some of these fronts are: (i) developing standard policy coverages, and (ii) building adequate capacity to cover a broad spectrum of industries. Going forward, the insurance industry will see more changes as it adapts to the times. “It will also be interesting to see how the general insurance industry evolves given the significant levels of excess capacity In particular, there may be some consolidation through M&A,” Patil said.
MSIG and Immediate will collaborate to explore blockchain
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analysis
MetLife partnered with China’s WeSure, the insurance platform of the WeChat social network, to distribute insurance and drive better customer engagement.
APAC insurers to bank on blockchain, cutting-edge tech for 2019 growth Insurers are banking on AI systems, blockchain-enabled products and platforms to reduce claim-processing time.
M
etLife made waves earlier in the year when its Singapore-based subsidiary and digital innovation center Lumenlab began testing Vitana, the world’s first automated insurance solution powered by blockchain technology that offers pregnant women an automatic payout if they are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Vitana was developed within the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s regulatory sandbox, and analysts foresee 2019 as a year when many other insurers will use not only blockchain but also artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to produce nextgeneration offerings and prepare for the regulatory transition to IFRS 17. MetLife said its trial is only the beginning of a wave of testing into the potentially game-changing impact of blockchain in the insurance industry. “In 2019, we
16 INSURANCE ASIA
intend to continue the experiments with blockchain, which enables a seamless claims experience into more markets,” said Stephen Barnham, senior vice president & CIO, MetLife Asia. A few months prior to start of the Vitana trial, FWD and PolicyPal Network, an affiliate of digital insurance broker PolicyPal Singapore, agreed to explore the creation of a blockchain-powered platform that provides more affordable insurance premiums and increased aid caps for insurance customers, mainly targeting Asia’s unbanked population. The business model is hinged on the blockchain technology’s ability to help boost transparency and accuracy in the risk assessment of premiums and coverage. Speaking broadly about the key themes likely to play out in 2019, Barnham reckoned more insurers
Prudential, for one, has reportedly built an AI system equipped with a chatbot that handles insurance claims management, reducing the claims processing time in Hong Kong from nine days to 2.3 seconds.
will undertake “significant steps to further incorporate technological innovation that brings efficiency to business processes and amplifies shareholder returns.” Relentless efficiency Aside from the upswing in blockchain-enabled insurance products and platforms, he sees the further expansion of artificial intelligence as heavily shaping customer experience and help improve the speed and costeffectiveness of insurers over the next 12 months. For Jonathan Zhao, EY AsiaPacific insurance sector leader, the top 2019 trends will be a continued focus on digital and online solutions, and heightened investment in efficiency-boosting AI and advanced automation solutions. Deloitte, in a report, noted how Japanese insurer Fukoku Mutual
analysis implemented an IBM Watson-based system that computes insurance claims by parsing unstructured data such as medical records, “Advanced technologies — blockchain, cognitive intelligence, and next-generation robotic process automation amongst them—provide ample tools to transform the back and middle offices,” the report said. In a separate report, Deloitte said that one of the most critical factors for insurers’ future success is a “relentless and continuous” operational efficiency. “Companies that employ manual processes will see customers defect to more convenient options. Personal intervention and physical documentation slow firms down and inflate costs,” the professional services firm said, citing blockchain technology’s ability to facilitate contracts and claims documentation, and artificial intelligence’s potential in helping with underwriting, claims and service requests. Prudential, for one, has reportedly built an AI system equipped with a chatbot that handles insurance claims management, reducing the claims processing time in Hong Kong from nine days to 2.3 seconds. The drastic speed improvement resulted from a system change: Customers could now send in their hospital claims electronically, with the help of a chatbot that can scan and upload hospital receipts and medical records. The forms are then assessed by an AI-powered decision engine that was trained in a matter of weeks to recognise handwriting with a mid80% or better accuracy rate. “In Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand companies are chasing both digital operational excellence and improved customer experience, whilst other countries are more focused on bold customer experience innovation, especially in China,” said Naoyuki Shibata, global Insurance practice lead at Accenture. MetLife partnered with China’s WeSure, the insurance platform of the WeChat social network, to distribute insurance and drive better customer engagement. Barnham said the insurer is exploring similar activities with Line Messenger in Japan and
Kakao in Korea, and expects these engagements to mature in 2019. “These market-specific ecosystems will continue to expand in integration capabilities via APIs,” said Barnham, citing the emergence in Asia of government-driven open API standards similar to Europe’s revised Payment Services Directive. Amongst industries, Barnham said life insurers will put greater emphasis on health and wellness services next year. “We saw in 2018, health and wellness being integrated into the overall life insurance offerings, and we will continue to see this in 2019.” In line with this, MetLife launched 360Health in Japan, focusing on value added services and five major critical illnesses, and the insurer plans to team up with health-tech providers create a unique customer experience. Growth and challenges As Asia-Pacific insurers start to wield technology to generate growth in certain markets and slash costs through efficiency gains, analysts forecast growth to sustain in 2019. “Across the sector we expect to see continued growth, particularly in the life segment,” said Zhao. “This will be driven by continued focus on growing distribution, including digital and online, as well as movement of insurers into health and wellness solutions.” For Shibata, the Asia-Pacific insurance market will likely expand at a moderate to stagnant pace, with developing countries faring better. Meanwhile, developed countries will see improved profitability, partly on the back of the regulatory impact of life insurers that prepare adequately for IFRS 17. “IFRS 17 is not just a new accounting standard for insurers – the changes it requires will affect almost every stakeholder and functional area, and many systems and processes, which is why it makes sense to use the standard as a springboard for broader change,” said PwC in a report. “And when thinking about the functionality the future will demand, highly developed information analytics will become the key determinant of competitive
Stephen Barnham
Jonathan Zhao
Naoyuki Shibata
differentiation.” However, Asian respondents also report a much higher difficulty than their European counterparts with a number of key complex facets of bringing insurers into IFRS 17 compliance, according to Deloitte’s Global IFRS Insurance survey in 2018. “One of the key challenges affecting the industry will be the increasing and changing regulations, particularly the new IFRS17 standard,” said Zhao. “This will have far reaching consequences on the industry, first as companies work to implement the changes in their organization and it systems, and second as companies adjust their strategies to reflect capital under the new standard.” Zhao anticipates that insurers will start to plan changes to their product strategy and may even consolidate in some markets as a result of the IFRS 17 regulatory shift. This is where insurers will be tested in how well they can wield their digital and technological savvy to turn the regulatory threat into an opportunity to get ahead of their rivals. “Imagine the business benefits of having a finance function that provides timely, actionable insight and is a key partner to strategic decision making. Our view is that this future is possible today, and that modernised insurers with this capability will significantly outperform their peers,” said PwC. “IFRS 17, if looked at as more than a mere compliance requirement, provides the business case to start building this finance function of the future now.” Shibata reckoned the best way for insurers in Asia Pacific to address IFRS 17 and other headwinds is to bolster their the use of technology and tools,including data analytics and AI, and to heighten efficiency through automation. “Advanced technologies like blockchain, Internet of Things devices and chatbots, among others, help insurers innovate and develop new products and services, while also building an ecosystem that meets the needs of customers and requirements from regulators in the best way.” INSURANCE ASIA
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event coverage: Insurance Asia Awards 2018
Here are the biggest game changers lauded at the Insurance Asia Awards 2018
AYA Myanmar Insurance Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Myanmar
ver 30 insurance companies from nearly 20 countries were recognised at the Insurance Asia Awards 2018 held at the Shangri-La Singapore on 13 July. The event beat last year’s record after gathering more than 250 executives and guests. This year’s nominations were judged by representatives from the Big Four accounting firms: Mohit Mehrotra, strategy consulting coleader at Deloitte Asia Pacific; Liew Nam Soon, ASEAN managing partner at Ernst and Young; Egidio Zarrella, ASPAC head of banking and capital markets, KPMG; and Andrew Taggart, partner, financial services leader, PwC Southeast Asia Consulting. “Whilst the rest of the world is occupied with the World Cup, tonight is a night to recognise insurance companies who are well deserving of their recognition. I’d also like to thank the judges for the Insurance Asia Awards,” said Tim Charlton, publisher and editor-inchief of Insurance Asia magazine. Below is a list of all the winning companies. Congratulations!
Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. Marketing Initiative of the Year - Singapore
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INSURANCE ASIA AWARDS 2018 WINNERS
Cathay Life Insurance CSR Initiative of the Year - Taiwan Chubb Life Vietnam New Insurance Product of the Year - Vietnam International Life Insurer of the Year - Vietnam CPIC Allianz Health Insurance Co., Ltd. Domestic General Insurer of the Year - China DOT INSURANCE SERVICES Domestic Broker of the Year - Oman
Expat Insurance Pte Ltd Domestic Broker of the Year - Singapore Forte Insurance (Cambodia) Plc. Domestic General Insurer of the Year - Cambodia Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited Claims Initiative of the Year - India FWD Life Insurance Corporation Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Philippines Marketing Initiative of the Year - Philippines FWD Vietnam Life Insurance Company Limited Marketing Initiative of the Year - Vietnam Guardian Life Insurance Limited Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - Bangladesh Claims Initiative of the Year - Bangladesh Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Bangladesh Hong Leong Assurance Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - Malaysia
Aetna International General Insurer of the Year - Singapore
IKBZ Insurance Domestic General Insurer of the Year - Myanmar Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - Myanmar
Afghan Global Insurance Domestic General Insurer of the Year - Afghanistan
Kyobo Lifeplanet Life New Insurance Product of the Year - South Korea
AIA Thailand International Life Insurer of the Year - Thailand CSR Initiative of the Year - Thailand
Lloyd’s Insurance Company (China) Ltd. CSR Initiative of the Year - China
AIA Singapore Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - Singapore Alliance Insurance P.S.C New Insurance Product of the Year - United Arab Emirates Nishit Majmudar, Aviva Ltd CEO of the Year AXA Affin General Insurance Berhad International General Insurer of the Year - Malaysia New Insurance Product of the Year - Malaysia Claims Initiative of the Year - Malaysia
MB Ageas Life Insurance Start-up of the Year - Vietnam MetLife Limited Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Hong Kong Marketing Initiative of the Year - Hong Kong Insurance Initiative of the Year - Hong Kong MSIG Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. New Insurance Product of the Year - Singapore Claims Initiative of the Year - Singapore Muang Thai Life Assurance PCL New Insurance Product of the Year - Thailand
AXA Life Insurance Co., Ltd. CSR Initiative of the Year - Japan
Oman Insurance Company Insurance Initiative of the Year - Oman
AXA Tianping P&C Insurance Co., Ltd. Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - China
Peak Reinsurance Company Limited Asian Reinsurer of the Year
Azerbaijan Industrial Insurance OJSC Domestic General Insurer of the Year- Azerbaijan
PolicyPal Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Singapore
AXA Financial Indonesia Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Indonesia
Post and Telecommunication Joint Stock Insurance Corporation (PTI) CSR Initiative of the Year - Vietnam
Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance Public Company Limited Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Thailand 18 INSURANCE ASIA
PRU LIFE UK CSR Initiative of the Year - Philippines
PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia New Insurance Product of the Year - Indonesia Reliance General Insurance Domestic General Insurer of the Year - India Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company Limited Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - India Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - India Singapore Life Insurance Start-up of the Year - Singapore ompo Japan Insurance Turkey S Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Turkey Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc New Insurance Product of the Year - Japan Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Japan Sun Life Vietnam Insurance Company Limited Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - Vietnam
Insurance Asia Awards Trophies
TAIWAN LIFE INSURANCE CO., LTD Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year - Taiwan New Insurance Product of the Year - Taiwan Claims Initiative of the Year - Taiwan T he Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. Domestic Life Insurer of the Year - Philippines Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. Marketing Initiative of the Year - Japan Insurance Initiative of the Year - Japan T ransamerica Life (Bermuda) Ltd. New Insurance Product of the Year - Hong Kong International Life Insurer of the Year - Hong Kong Anicom Holdings, Inc. Domestic Pet Insurer of the Year
Guests from Aetna International
The biggest Insurance Asia awards to date
Guests from FWD Vietnam Life Insurance Company Limited
Rebecca Tan of AXA Affin General Insurance Berhad
Guests from MSIG Insurance (Singapore) INSURANCE ASIA
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event coverage: Insurance Asia Awards 2018
Aekkaratt Thitimon & Rapiphon Vongtongkum of AIA Thailand
Derek Goldberg of Aetna International
Ho Lee Yen of AIA Singapore
Myo Min Thu AYA Myanmar Insurance
Wu Tzoong-Wey of Cathay Life Insurance
Pithan Rojanawong of Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance Public Company Limited 20 INSURANCE ASIA
Monirul Alam & Rubayat Saleheen of Guardian Life Insurance Limited
Min Thant, Chit Su Tun, and Tint Tint Wai of IKBZ Insurance
Khanh Bui of Chubb Life Vietnam
Dennis Liu of Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd.
Rebecca Tan of AXA Affin General Insurance Berhad
Vuong My Phung of FWD Vietnam Life Insurance Company Limited
Lee Wood and Carolyn Chung of Metlife Limited
Russel Lok of MB Ageas Life
Jean Tan and Sam Tan of MSIG Insurance (Singapore)
Ruthai Suttikulpanich of Muang Thai Life Assurance PCL
Eckart Roth of Peak Reinsurance Company Limited
Nina Aguas, Mona Lisa dela Cruz, and Ana Maria Soriano of Insular Life
Walter de Oude of Singapore Life
Mike Goodall of Transamerica Life (Bermuda) Ltd.
Tsukasa Makino of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
CEO of the Year, Nishit Majmudar of Aviva Ltd
Insurance Asia team
Tony Chuang of Taiwan Life Insurance
INSURANCE ASIA
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Marketing initiative of the year - vietnam
FWD Vietnam: Standing out in a crowded market
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been critical factors in FWD’s growth and WD’s vision is clear—it is one of the success. And with what FWD has done, it can first things you see on their website: also add simplified, jargon-free contracts to they want to ‘change the way people its repertoire of insurance innovation. feel about insurance’. In fact as soon as All of this is underpinned by cutting-edge FWD entered the market, one of the first digital technology. Agents can complete things it did to differentiate itself was to and submit application forms online, whilst minimise its exclusions. Currently, FWD customers can submit claims via e-mail. products have only two to six exclusions on FWD is one of the first average which is companies to provide a bold positioning “FWD Vietnam has developed statement, but what they refer to as an omni- this kind of services. They have also judging by the channel distribution method, leveraged new brand’s fast meaning customers can interact technology from other expansion, it is with them in any way that best brands, creating likeclearly one that is minded partnerships. working. suits them.” A great example of this Over the last two is its partnership e-commerce success story years, they have also launched several firstTiki.vn. It has become a valued distributor of to-market products that are not only new FWD life insurance, the first life insurance and innovative but are also now paving the product to be distributed on an e-commerce way for other insurers to follow suit. Being website. More recently this has expanded to customer-led is key. FWD’s critical illness a new cancer care product (available to buy cover for example offers a single policy via a few simple registration steps). All of protection for the whole family, including this is changing how insurance is usually sold any children born in the future with no extra and marketed in Vietnam. premium, which is unique in the industry. Its universal life insurance offers an impressive Staying human 24/7 e-withdrawal mechanism—another But the challenge is to continue being able to first in Vietnam. communicate with older, existing customers These distinguishing breakthroughs have as well as new tech-savvy ones. FWD tells us that whilst younger generations often value the speed and convenience of online tools, there is still very much the ‘pen-and-paper’ generation, not to be ignored. Therefore, FWD has utilised digitalisation to make the process simple and friendly that older customers can gradually get acquainted with and have a chance to get more
Marketing team of FWD Vietnam at the Insurance Asia Awards 2018
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For FWD Vietnam, being customer-led is key
convenient service. Meanwhile, they have also developed what they refer to as an omni-channel distribution method, meaning customers can interact with FWD in any way that best suits them. FWD has also been making headlines in Vietnam with its highly visible marketing campaigns such as its eye-catching advertising featured on Grab and Uber cars and its hugely popular launch song and flash mob “Sống đầy từ hôm nay.” So it is no surprise that FWD has won Marketing Initiative of the Year at the annual Insurance Asia Awards 2018. In fact this is the first time a local life insurance company has received this award. In response, Vuong My Phung, FWD Vietnam’s chief marketing officer said, “We’re thrilled to receive this prestigious award and it’s another validation of our vision to change the way people feel about insurance. Through our tagline ‘Get ready to live’, FWD has built up a new, innovative, and different image of life insurance in Vietnam, offering protection but in a positive and proactive way.”
CONTACT Company name: FWD Vietnam Life Insurance Company Limited Address: 11th Floor, Diamond Plaza Building, 34 Le Duan Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Phone number: +84 28 6256 3688 Email: customerconnect.vn@fwd.com Website: www.fwd.com.vn
asian reinsurer of the year
Relevance of mutual and cooperative: Peak Re shares learnings from developed Europe and Asia
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to address this potential issue. It is essential s part of its thought leadership to stay connected with relevant parties and strategies, Peak Re aims to share to meet performance targets by generating insights with clients through its income to build capital reserve, as MCCOs annual economic research publications— are subject to regulatory supervision just Peak Insights. The Peak Insights this year is like their commercial peers. dedicated to Mutuals and Cooperatives and Also, stringent capital requirements could Community-based Organisations (MCCOs). lead MCCOs to search for external capital Insurance at first comes from a mutual or contingent capital to meet financing support against unforeseen events. requirements. Third party capital includes This concept of mutuality is not new to reinsurance capacity, society and is a basis subordinated debt to build a stronger community to guard Stringent capital requirements and equity. Unlike against poverty. could lead MCCOs to search for their commercial peers, MCCOs have When MCCOs were external capital or contingent greater difficulty to established, they capital to meet financing issue subordinated were initially nonrequirements. debt and raise profit organisations equity, due to the which have lack of permanent supported economic capital as they are member based mutual development and social stability. From organisations. that starting point, MCCOs have become For those who are seeking capital, major contributors to social stability and a proven track record of operating economic development and they developed performance is some of the aspects that to become major market participants in the external investors would consider. Again, insurance industry. governance is intended to safeguard the Many of the MCCOs have long operating longevity of the organisations, therefore, histories and they continue to gain good and effective governance is viewed as popularity which highlights the solidarity a means to attract external capital. and sustainability concepts behind it. Their Although MCCOs are facing an rise in popularity was built around relevance increasingly challenging operating and simplicity of purpose to members, long environment and stringent regulatory before the existence of a social welfare requirements, some of them in developed system. Today, whilst social welfare is Europe and Asia have managed to stand common in developed countries, MCCOs out from the crowd. This report aims to still have a role to play as supplement to the system and to commercial insurers. Industry sustainability MCCOs’ reputation and proximity to members are strong reasons for their longevity and sustainability. As they help members in risk prevention and after an unforeseen events, MCCOs are viewed to be good corporate citizens. This attribute, in return, positively contributes to their reputation and market presence. MCCOs are not only relevant to members, but also to employees. Size is a potential constraint to transparency between MCCOs and their members and employees. Hence, MCCOs need solutions to remain agile in addressing social and economic changes and adapting to regulatory trends. Good and effective governance is one of several ways
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understand how these MCCOs can remain sustainable and financially sound; and how they remain relevant to society whilst addressing regulatory requirements and potentially external investors. The intention is to support their development as MCCOs have proved more suitable to meet specific needs in certain circumstances. The company Peak Re is headquartered in Hong Kong with shareholder equity of $1.02b as of 30 June 2018. It is authorised by the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong and is rated “A-” by A.M. Best, a leading international insurance industry credit rating agency. Fosun International Limited (Fosun) and Prudential Financial, Inc. hold 86.9% and 13.1% of Peak Re via Peak Re Holdings, respectively. Peak Re offers reinsurance services covering a range of lines across the Asia Pacific, EMEA, and the Americas, tailor-making risk transfer and capital management solutions to best fit the needs of its clients.
CONTACT Company name: Peak Reinsurance Company Limited Address: Room 2107-11, ICBC Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong Phone number: +852 3509 6666 Website: www.peak-re.com
Eckart Roth (right), CRO, Peak Re at the Insurance Asia Awards 2018
International Life Insurer of the Year - Thailand CSR Initiative of the Year - Thailand
AIA Thailand and over 50,000 participating people create a phenomenon of social contribution
More than 50,000 participating people countrywide joined hands with AIA for the ‘AIA Sharing A Life Charity Run’
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biggest CSR initiative that exposes the IA Thailand celebrates its 80th power or sharing and doing good for anniversary of services and reaffirms society by AIA people to improve the lives its strong commitment to encourage and wellbeing of people and communities people countrywide to have healthier, nationwide. It has been consecutively held longer, better lives by organising “AIA since 2014 whereby AIA staff members, Sharing A Life Charity Run”, a charity walk agents, customers, as well as business and run simultaneously in 10 provinces partners and the general public dedicate across Thailand in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, their time and effort to perform a variety Phitsanulok, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Nakhon of activities simultaneously in one day in Ratchasima, Nakhon Pathom, Supanburi, different locations across the country. Rayong, and Surat Thani province. Communal A number of activities vary government from cleaning up agencies, “The ‘AIA Sharing A Life Charity public parks, fixing for instance, Run,’ which was simultaneously run-down public Department of held in 10 provinces across facilities, planting Health, Ministry Thailand, gathered over 50,000 trees to free of Public Health, participants to encourage people health check-up, Bangkok Health to live healthier, longer, and better. sports equipment Department, and scholarship Faculty of Public donation. A major Health, Mahidol part of the activities involved provision University, and 10 provincial agencies joined of mobile medical check-up services for the event making its a success and gaining members of the public, particularly the an overwhelming positive feedback from underprivileged and disadvantaged. more than 50,000 people countrywide who joined hands with AIA Thailand in creating About AIA Thailand a phenomenon of social contribution. In Established in Thailand in 1938, AIA has addition, AIA and participating people been committed to providing protection donated outdoor workout equipment coverage to both individuals and businesses to communities under the “AIA Vitality through a wide variety of products and Workout” programme to encourage more services, including life insurance, personal people to live healthier, in line with AIA accident, health insurance, group insurance, Thailand’s brand promise “Healthier, Longer, credit life insurance, and provident fund Better Lives.” management services. AIA Sharing A Life represents AIA’s
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AIA and participating people donated outdoor workout equipment under the “AIA Vitality Workout” programme
Currently, AIA Thailand has more than 60,000 agents nationwide, serving over 5.5 million customers with over 8 million in-force policies. Leading the life insurance industry, AIA pioneers iPOS+ & AIA iService applications for sales and customer support to ensure prompt and first-rate service standards. AIA is strongly committed to making people live longer, healthier and better lives. The Company aims to make a real difference to our community through a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives, for instance AIA Sharing A Life Day, AIA School Library, AIA Operation Smile, AIA New Legs New Life, and so on.
CONTACT Company name: AIA Company Limited Address: AIA Tower, 181 Surawongse Road, Bangkok 10500, Thailand Phone number: (66) 2634 8888 Website: www.aia.co.th
marketing initiative of the year - singapore
No pain, just gains: How Etiqa’s campaign is changing insurance for all generations the attention of our target audience. Overall, it achieved its branding objective to improve the favourability of the Etiqa brand,” Sue added.
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tiqa’s “No Pain. Just Gains.” campaign, which won the company the Marketing Initiative of the Year - Singapore award at the Insurance Asia Awards 2018 has not only made the relatively young insurance firm a household name in the city-state, but also made it appeal to the entire spectrum of the Singapore insurance market. And it is not difficult to see why. The marketing campaign, which was launched in December 2017, introduced Etiqa’s new online savings solution—the EASY save series that targeted clients from all generations. Making use of a parody video, the campaign used weightlifting as a reference with an image of two weightlifters that represent the two products Etiqa was introducing. They are doing the heavy work for the tech savvy millennial client sitting in the middle. “This campaign highlights the nature of EASY save products embodying smart yet easy ways to save, which allows customers to be more receptive to our brand and the solutions it offers,” said Sue Chi Kong, chief executive officer of Etiqa Insurance. “It allows consumers to identify and associate our brand with simple online insurance savings solutions in the long-run.” The two products under the EASY save series promoted under the “No Pains. Just Gains.” campaign include the eEASY save plan, which offers customers an attractive guaranteed return of 2.46% per annum over a policy term of six years for a certain period of time. The eEASY savepro, on the other hand, is aimed at the “financially
30 INSURANCE ASIA
adventurous,” where customers can yield higher non-guaranteed potential returns of up to 3.26% per annum with a policy term of seven years. Behind the scenes In coming up with the marketing campaign, Sue noted that there were a number of challenges that Etiqa had to identify and overcome despite being owned by Maybank Ageas Holdings Berhad, the leading insurer in Malaysia. One of the challenges is the changing perceptions and lack of indirect competitors to the company’s products and service offerings that could push customers and clients to adopt a wait-and-see approach to the innovation. There is also the lower brand awareness in the Singapore market given that the company was only formally incorporated in 2007—a young age compared to other more established insurance firms. Lastly, the insurer needed to provide products and services that could cater to all generations of customers in the Singapore market whilst also incorporating forward-looking innovations into its arsenal. To overcome these challenges, Etiqa launched the ‘No Pain. Just Gains.’ marketing campaign which, according to Sue, is meant to focus on bridging market gaps to connect and enhance consumers’ lifestyle. “It caught the public’s attention, earned trust, and maintained interest within a short time frame. The integrated campaign across traditional, content marketing, social and digital channels was also the key in capturing
Focus on innovation The award-winning “No Pains. Just Gains.” marketing campaign is but one of the growing list of efforts that Etiqa is committed to continue pursuing to remain focussed on providing innovative and technologically advanced insurance products and services to its clients. “Our relentless dedication to being a digital and innovative insurer allows us to value the digitalisation and technologybased solutions in every aspect of our business, from the product solutions to the consumer’s buying journey and claims processes,” Sue said. “It is our aim to make insurance as straightforward, clear, and honest as possible for our customers. By positioning ourselves as an online consumer-centric insurer offering innovative products and solutions, we are constantly looking for ways to best serve our customers.” This is complementary to the company’s continued strategy of listening to customers’ feedback and suggestions. “We stay relevant by always being receptive to feedback and constantly seeking out the customer’s voice to gather their thoughts, understand their perspectives, and suggestions on how to improve our products and services,” Sue concluded. Etiqa provides a comprehensive range of protection, savings, retirement, and general insurance solutions for customers’ needs. It was the first insurer to offer online direct purchase life insurance (DPI whole life and DPI term life) in Singapore in 2015 and launched the first online insurance savings plan in Singapore in 2017.
CONTACT Company name: Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. Address: One Raffles Quay, #22-01 North Tower, Singapore 048583 Phone number: +65 6887 8777 E-mail: customer.service@etiqa.com.sg Website: www.etiqa.com.sg
OPINION
JUTA
The journey towards successful implementation of IFRS 17
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ith only slightly more than two years to go, the preparation for the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17 or “the Standard”) in 1 January 2021 is proving to be a significant challenge for insurers globally including those in Asia. Efforts to comply are driving substantial changes across many parts of insurers’ businesses—from actuarial and finance, to product development and operations. Furthermore, there are growing concerns about how much diversity will emerge from its application, due to the possibility that there may be different interpretations on how to implement this principlebased Standard across over 100 jurisdictions around the world. In order to ensure a level-playing field across these jurisdictions, there is a mandatory requirement—when the insurer first applies the Standard, the insurer needs to fully restate all prior accounting records as though IFRS 17 had always been applied. This adds a major one-off cost to the implementation of the new Standard, especially for insurers with in-force policies during the transition period that originated several decades ago. This will likely have implications for required processes, such as collecting and storing data inputs. To correspond with the preparation phase of the Standard, senior executives from insurers operating across the globe were surveyed for their industry perspectives and insights into how insurers are preparing for the new insurance accounting rules. The survey, Deloitte’s Global IFRS Insurance Survey 2018, “2021 countdown underway: Insurers prepare for IFRS 17 implementation,” sought the views of 340 global insurers across North America, Europe, and Asia, representing a range of insurer types. Implementation challenges From the survey findings, we can highlight three key implementation challenges that insurers face in adopting the Standard: Collaboration between Actuarial, Accounting, IT, and other business functions. On top of actuarial and accounting skills, fostering a culture of collaboration is important for insurers to successfully drive closer integration across departments including finance, actuarial, IT. New data management strategies are needed to create centralised data that can be used for compliance and other purposes in an effort to tighten cross-functional collaboration. That being said, insurers also reported having the greatest difficulty finding actuarial and accounting expertise. For instance, it is not easy to find actuaries who are conversant with accounting issues, and vice versa, and this is a growing talent acquisition challenge. Technology upgrades. Capturing data input has been cited as the biggest technology challenge and the majority of insurers have stressed that their systems technology will require upgrades in order to capture new data sets and perform the calculations required for IFRS 17 compliance. Implementing new technology solutions will 32 INSURANCE ASIA
RAJ JUTA Insurance Sector Leader Deloitte Southeast Asia
Asian insurers will have a different starting point
also incur more costs and resources required for the effort. Just enough time to get ready. Insurers are working towards the Standard’s effective date with cautious optimism, albeit with variations amongst insurer types. Health insurers reflected higher confidence that they will be ready by the effective date, compared to life insurers. In addition, life insurers reported a greater struggle in preparing investor and market communications compared to other insurers. From a geographical perspective, Europe takes the lead in confidence sentiments compared to North America and Asia. Moreover, the changes that will occur with IFRS 17 implementation will likely impact the relationship between insurers, regulators and investors, for example in terms of capital and tax requirements. Product design, key performance indicators and corporate cultures will also be affected, although these changes will probably emerge more clearly after the Standard has been implemented. For insurers in Asia The impact on Asian-based insurers, whether domestic or subsidiaries of European-insurers, will be substantial given that many Asian countries have adopted IFRS. This means that, unlike European insurers, Asian insurers would not be able to leverage their IFRS 17 solution from the technical alignment between IFRS and the new Solvency II regime implemented on 1 January 2016 across the European Union. As such, Asian insurers will have a different starting point and need to factor into the cost the ability to report between their current regulatory bases and the more complex IFRS 17 requirements. As we move closer to the effective date of IFRS 17, depending on which stage insurers are currently at in their implementation efforts, they will be expected to accelerate their efforts towards addressing the Standard’s various implementation challenges to meet the “go live” date of 1 January 2021. By doing so, insurers can look forward to financial statements that better reflect business performance, enable easier access to capital markets, and improve information leading to business growth.
Winning countless awards and earning your trust
Only one awarded in Asia ABF Insurance Asia Awards CSR Initiative of the Year
Top 100 in the world
Brand Finance Insurance Top 100
Only one awarded in the insurance industry
1st place in two categories of the National Brand Yushan Award
Taiwan Life Insurance has the strength to continue to make rapid progress 2017 Brand Finance Insurance Top 100 2017 ABF Insurance Asia Awards -CSR Initiative of the Year 2017 Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards –Health Promotion Silver medals for the “Public Welfare Project Plan” and “Product Innovation & Project Planning” at the 7th Taiwan Insurance Excellence Awards First place in the "Outstanding Enterprise Category" and "Outstanding Enterprise Leader" at the 14th National Brand Yushan Award Taiwan Life Insurance Co., Ltd./www.taiwanlife.com/8F, No. 188, Jingmao 2nd Road, Nangang District, Taipei City/Customer service hotline: 0800-099-850 or (02) 8170-5156