Headline
MediaTitle
Date
Section
Page No
Language
Journalist
Frequency
Manulife eyes four fronts
The Star
22 Dec 2012
Star BizWeek
19
English
Daljit Dhesi
Daily
Color
Circulation
Readership
ArticleSize
AdValue
PR Value
Full Color
304,904
1,026,812
317 cm²
RM 14,763
RM 44,288
Manulife eyes four fronts
Insurer plans to achieve stronger market presence
By DALJIT DHESI
daliitgJthestar.com.my
Since insurance is a service onented busi­
WITH a relatively small market share in
the competitive insurance landscape, ness, Chew says the overall operations should
Manulife Insurance Bhd is now look­ reflect the same. As customers are getting
more savvy, he says the processes, from
ing at four fronts which it hopes will propel
the company to have a stronger presence and claims to settlement, for example, should be
reach in the market.
simple and consumer friendly, noting that
high quality services should be key.
The company currently commands close
to 2% of the life insurance market with about
In terms of technology, for a stronger reach
300,000 customers. New chief executive
in the market and to facilitate insurance
officer George Chew is looking at new initia­
tives to improve its business and standing in
applications and submission, he adds, there
the market.
The four areas which he describes as part
of the company's corporate strategy are in
distribution, adopting value propositions
where products are concerned, services and
technology.
He adds that the overall thrust is to ensure
the best way to engage with customers and
at the same time to meet their growing
demands and changes in habits and lifestyles.
In terms of distribution channels, the
agency is still the biggest and makes up close
to 90% of total distribution while the balance
comprises bancassurance and financial advis­
ers.
"In the distribution side, we are going back
to fundamentals. The key is to look at ways to
have effective engagement with customers.
We want agents who are serious about their
careers and a have a career path to achieve.
They should be committed and dedicated and
sell products which customers are looking for
and not act as mere product pushers," he tells
StarBizWeek.
Manulife currently has 2,000 agents and
intends to double the number over the next
few years. In the bancassurance side, Citibank
is the key bank partner that distributes its
insurance products and the company has
plans to expand its bancassurance partners
when opportunity arises, he says.
Rather than churning out mere vanilla
products, Chew adds, it is adopting value
propositions in terms of what can be wrapped
or bundled in an insurance product.
He says it intends to roll out products that
are simple, innovative, best in class and which
are plans to provide agents with tablets as
currently being piloted at Manulife in Hong
Kong. Research, according to Chew, has
shown that customers are comfortable using
tablets when filling their particulars as it is
user friendly and fast when buying insurance
rather than filling up loads of forms manually.
On the outlook of the insurance sector next
year, he says with the Malaysian economy
showing strong growth, the prospect looks
good unless weighed down by external fac­
tors like the slowdown in the global economy.
He says judging from the size of the insur­
ance sector as a percentage of gross domestic
product (GDP), there is still great potential in
the sector and ample room for growth. For
example, in Malaysia the contribution of the
sector to GDP is at 2.8% compared with about
6% in Singapore and between 7% and 8% in
Japan
He adds that the penetration of life insur­
ance is about 43% in Malaysia, which is con­
sidered low compared to other countries.
Chew, who was appointed CEO effective
Sept 28, will like to offer takaful products and
is awaiting for the right opportunity to obtain
a licence.
He says the company is keen to secure a
licence in view of the huge bumiputra mar­
ket Manulife Insurance is a subsidiary of
public­listed Manulife Holdings Bhd, which
in turn is owned 59.4% by Manulife Century
Holdings of the Netherlands. In terms of
contribution to earnings, Manulife Insurance
contributed about RM76mil or 89% of parent
Manulife Holdings pre­tax profits last year.
New business premiums for the financial
year ended Dec31,2011, stood at RM59mil
while gross premiums was RM488mil. For
For example, living benefits which is made the third quarter ended Sept 30,2012, new
up of two products, hospitalisation and criti­ business premiums was RM51mil and gross
cal illness protection, is something that every premiums for the period was RM374mil.
Malaysians should have, he explains.
has an element of customer care.
Headline
MediaTitle
Date
Section
Page No
Language
Journalist
Frequency
Manulife eyes four fronts
The Star
22 Dec 2012
Star BizWeek
19
English
Daljit Dhesi
Daily
Color
Circulation
Readership
ArticleSize
AdValue
PR Value
Full Color
304,904
1,026,812
317 cm²
RM 14,763
RM 44,288
Chew: In the distribution side, we are going back
to fundamentals.'