FWD Insurance Singapore has opened its direct- to-consumer business, starting with travel and car insurance products. There are plans to introduce direct purchase of term insurance policies soon.
FWD is aiming to transform the insurance business by simplifying the process of buying policies. The company is investing S$500 million (US$366.4 million) in Singapore over the next few years.
FWD Singapore Chief Executive Abhishek Bhatia said, "The model we've chosen is not to recruit tied agents, which is what most of the players in the industry do." Through a simple website application, the company eliminates the need for an agent to call back with a quote, by providing customers quotes for car insurance in some 60 seconds and travel insurance in 10 seconds. The company is also introducing a term in its motor insurance policies, where drivers who have a 50% no-claim discount will have the discount protected for life, even if they have multiple accidents in the same year. In addition, FWD provides policyholders an option of submitting their claims through Whatsapp.
"If your flight is delayed, you can take a photo of your boarding pass and send it to us on WhatsApp, and we'll process your claim," said Mr Bhatia. "In any area, unless we need the information from the customer, we're not going to ask for it. There will be no needless information just because it's good to have."
The company aims at minimising the effort of the customer and changing their perspective about insurance. It has plans for the prototypes of products to be produced and approved in Singapore, and then get accepted by other markets, such as Macau and Thailand.