 Life
Insurance Company of the Year
China Pacific Life Insurance Co
One of the pioneers of China’s life insurance industry, CPIC Life has responded to market demands with products covering all seasons of life, and using technology to reach out to customers.
With almost 20 years in the life insurance industry, Shanghai-headquartered China Pacific Life Insurance (CPIC Life) is one of the pioneers of China’s life insurance industry. It is the country’s third largest life insurer and the second largest private pensions provider, as well as one of only five companies chosen to pilot the pension system in China.
CPIC Life responded ahead of the market when it saw the opportunity to serve customers’ lifetime needs. Consequently, it adjusted its product mix from low-value, investment-oriented, single premium and short-term products to higher-value, long-term savings and protection products. As a result, new business formed 98% of long-term savings and protection, more than double the amount in 2007 and 15% above the industry average. Even the regulator – CIRC – gave its stamp of approval by encouraging the industry to follow CPIC Life’s example.
As part of its move from product-led sales to sales based on customer needs, CPIC Life launched four series of products covering savings, protection, annuities and health, under the theme of “Four seasons of life – fully protected – true happiness”.
And to better serve its rural customers, CPIC Life introduced mobile debit card machines to collect premiums. It was among the first life insurers in China to standardise operations and call centres in three locations, forming a highly secure and stable national service network, and upgrading customer service. As a result, the company was ranked highest in terms of quality by the China Association for Quality Promotion.
CPIC Life’s innovation has also been exemplified through its electronic point of sale e-issuance system, using GPRS. It is said to be the first such system in China, providing individually identifiable travel, accident and other short term policies at any point of sale, 24/7. Individual records are made accessible through the internet, providing clear proof of coverage on any particular vehicle and enabling rapid claims settlement.
CPIC Life has also outperformed its competitors financially. In 2009, its net profits grew by 35% and value of new business increased by 37%. Premium income rose 30% year-on-year to US$9.1 billion, the highest growth rate among Chinese listed insurance companies. CPIC Life has also maintained solvency levels of over 200% of the regulatory minimum, even during the global financial crisis.
China’s new insurance law in 2009 did not take CPIC Life by surprise, as the insurer fully complied with the law even before it took effect. Its effort was publicly recognised by CIRC themselves.
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General Insurance Company of the Year
Lonpac Insurance
Lonpac has impressed the judges with its use of in-depth product knowledge and technology to meet customers’ needs, while maintaining a consistent financial performance.
Since its establishment 48 years ago, Lonpac has built robust financial strength and industry prominence in Malaysia, while extending its reach to Singapore and Cambodia.
Lonpac has differentiated itself through a combination of in-depth product knowledge and technical expertise, responsiveness to market changes and a technology-driven infrastructure. In 2009, it launched Flexicare Personal Accident insurance in response to the growing demand for comprehensive coverage at affordable prices. The main feature of this product is free coverage of children if both parents are insured under one policy.
Lonpac also covers small and medium enterprises with its Smart Business Solutions, a comprehensive policy with 11 classes of insurance in one package at a lower premium compared to individual coverage.
In 2009, Lonpac launched its Customer Relationship Management system to enhance its customer service. The system allows for an integrated and consistent view of customer details to be made available to all departments so that customer issues, requests or complaints can be tracked and managed easily. In addition, customers can access and enquire about their claims online, through Lonpac’s website at www.lonpac.com.
The increasing number of motor proposals being submitted electronically through Lonpac’s motor E-Insurance system is evidence of the system’s popularity. This has halved the amount of time taken in accepting a proposal to issuing a policy, from 48 hours to 24 hours. Moreover, the processing of submissions is centralised for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The system has proven so successful that it has been extended to non-motor classes.
Customers have also given their thumbs up to Lonpac E-Assist, a 24-hour complimentary emergency car assistance service, as reflected in the increasing membership and usage of the service since 2004. Another value-added service, Lonpac Home-Assist, provides complimentary referral services on home-related problems.
Undeterred by the global economic uncertainties, Lonpac has consistently maintained good financial performance over the years, with growth in return on equity from 30% in 2005 to over 55% in 2009. Gross premium and underwriting profit have risen over the last five years, by 18% and 30% respectively, in the same year. The Group is set for another good performance in 2010 judging by its half-year results of a pre-tax profit of RM 84.7 million (US$27 million), an increase of 17% year-on-year.
Lonpac has been assigned a financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” by AM Best since 2007. It has received various accolades, such as Best Insurer in Malaysia in 2009 from Euromoney and now, the General Insurance Company of 2010.
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Educational Service Provider of the Year
Joint Winners
Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance
The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) has been awarded the Educational Service Provider of the Year for the seventh time, in recognition of its continued achievements in developing and enhancing professional industry standards.
ANZIIF’s mission is to inspire professionalism across the insurance industry through providing quality education and personal development programmes. ANZIIF engages with industry practitioners at all levels and across all sectors to develop and deliver the most up-to-date educational services, which yield the best possible business results and closely reflect changing industry needs and key business trends.
In 2009, ANZIIF continued in its mission when it expanded its services to provide educational leadership across Asia in China, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. It remains committed to assisting international insurance markets and expanding education and professional services across the entire Asia Pacific region.
One of the key reasons that ANZIIF has enjoyed significant expansion across Asia in a short duration is because it understands and values the different regulations, cultures and approaches of the various markets it works with. Rather than provide standard off-the-shelf materials, ANZIIF develops customised, internationally-recognised qualifications for leading insurance companies across the region.
For example, in 2009, it developed internationally-recognised qualifications for a Staff Accreditation Scheme of one of China’s largest insurance companies. ANZIIF’s qualification in General Insurance was adopted as the company’s key qualification and existing course pathways were restructured to suit their needs.
In the same year, ANZIIF conducted numerous customer and industry surveys to ensure that its services remain at the forefront of education and professional membership in the insurance industry. It also launched online exams, allowing students from across the Asia Pacific region to sit for their exams in a supervised environment within their workplace. This new online system allows greater flexibility for students and higher levels of security including multiple versions and randomising of questions to ensure that ANZIIF’s exams remain academically rigorous.
ANZIIF’s leadership in developing international standards of insurance knowledge was demonstrated last year when Iraq’s Ministry of Finance sought its advice on developing such standards, similar to the work that ANZIIF had conducted in Vietnam. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Institute established an enhanced student mentoring system and introduced discounted access to membership and Insite, its online professional development tool for PNG insurance professionals.
In 2009, ANZIIF launched a new membership level – Student Membership – to support and enhance the career of students while they study towards professional qualifications. This offers a significant advantage to those who are undertaking an insurance qualification and wish to be recognised for their commitment as they progress in their career.
MicroInsurance Academy
The MicroInsurance Academy’s (MIA’s) innovative training methods, customised to the needs of the low-income group, have won admiration from its peers and the judging panel.
The low-income group presents the toughest challenge for insurance education, because they can flag their poverty as a reason to reject insurance. The MIA has risen to this challenge by developing, testing and delivering – usually free-of-charge to trainees – a broad range of innovative, multilingual, audio-visual educational messages, bridging the literacy and numeracy gap of the target population.
Educational services for microinsurance must meet three objectives: raising awareness among individuals and groups, explaining how microinsurance addresses local needs, and imparting operational skills. MIA, one of the largest training providers in the microinsurance space, acts at all three levels.
MIA’s innovative training methods are customised to the unique needs of its target audience. Instead of relying on textbooks, it has imparted knowledge of insurance through play, song-writing and mobile phone ringtones. It has even produced a full-length Bollywood-type film with the typical mix of romance and drama, portraying how villagers use microinsurance to mitigate exposures to natural catastrophes and injustice.
Communities get involved in product design by playing “CHAT: Choosing Healthplans All Together”, a game-like simulation exercise that allows even illiterate and innumerate persons to participate in prioritising services that should be insured within a finite budget. MIA has also developed several “how-to” pictorials on submitting claims, improving operations and achieving greater client satisfaction and retention.
To fill the gap in knowledge about reinsurance, MIA launched what is believed to be the world’s first and only annual “Reinsurance School for Microinsurance Schemes” in 2007. With guests from RGA, Swiss Re, Allianza, Eureko-Re and Guy Carpenter, the event attracted officials and leaders of microinsurance units as well as participants from development agencies and commercial insurers responsible for making decisions in microinsurance.
At the international level, MIA has shared with other development agencies, such as UNDP in the Pacific and the German GTZ in Ghana, its “fun-and-games” tools that demonstrate the importance of insurance in financial protection. It has also facilitated the Insurance Education Working Group under the MicroInsurance Network, carrying out the first-ever worldwide stock-taking exercise on insurance education. The survey received over 1,000 responses and was followed by in-depth interviews with over 100 organisations from more than 50 countries.
MIA’s presence has extended to the poorest states in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Fiji, Cambodia and Tanzania. Its activities have positioned the Academy as the front-runner in microinsurance education and a worthy joint winner of the Educational Service Provider of the Year.
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Innovation of the Year
EQECAT, Inc
EQECAT’s Asia typhoon model is revolutionising the way in which the insurance and reinsurance industry evaluates risk in the region, by providing comprehensive hazard coverage and a new understanding of risk correlation.
The western Pacific basin is known for producing some of the world’s most intense tropical cyclones. Combined with regional economic growth, this has created an increased risk profile that has profound implications for the global insurance and reinsurance industry. Recent notable events, including Asian Typhoons Morakot (2009), Hagupit (2008), Krosa (2007) and Saomai (2006), have each resulted in over $1 billion in damages.
In response to the industry’s need for a specific model highlighting risk correlation throughout the region, EQECAT has created what is believed to be the first basin-wide Asia typhoon model providing consistent risk metrics. This is believed to help re/insurers understand correlation, risk differentiation and pricing, risk aggregation and portfolio risk management.
In developing the model, EQECAT worked closely with Dr Johnny Chan, Chair Professor of Applied Physics at the City University of Hong Kong, to reconcile and enhance the typhoon record of the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC). Using this enhanced data to create a comprehensive probabilistic event set, including roughly 150,000 stochastic and 1,800 historical events, the model offers comprehensive risk metrics throughout the western Pacific basin.
The model offers a comprehensive view of the typhoon hazard – looking at not just the direct effects of wind, but also the effects of storm surge and typhoon rainfall-induced flooding. It covers Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia – an astounding 12 million square miles of geography.
The model is being used by several high profile, global reinsurance brokers and re/insurance companies. Its highly-anticipated release in July 2010 was warmly welcomed by the industry.
Mr Jason Miller, Senior Vice President of Validus Re called the model “a breakthrough that allows us to correlate risk in that region in a robust way.” He added: “Our ability to review our exposure for that region on a portfolio basis greatly enhances our underwriting and overall risk management efforts.”
Mr Hemant Nagpal, Vice President, Guy Carpenter & Co said the model “will be an indispensable tool for determining the catastrophe risk to wind, storm surge and typhoon induced flooding for the western Pacific basin. The ability to combine the risk across various countries would be instrumental in putting together the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle for the wind risk and associated flooding risk for the region.”
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Service Provider of the Year
ReMark International
Having operated in Asia since 1986, ReMark has become the market leader in providing alternative distribution and marketing solutions to its insurance partners across the region.
Since entering Asia, ReMark has helped its business partners improve the performance of their distribution channels and develop new channels to sell insurance products. Many of ReMark’s programmes are tailored to help its partners accelerate business growth. For example, by the end of 2009, after two years of work, ReMark helped a leading Southeast Asian bancassurer grow its alternative distribution business from a negligible amount to 20% of total new business.
ReMark has continued to enhance its service offering. In 2009, it launched a proprietary third-party administration system, RaPID, to facilitate the delivery and management of insurance products through multiple alternative distribution channels to support the acquisition, growth and retention of customers. ReMark has also introduced new product offerings and distribution channels across Asia, such as ATMs, inbound calls and mobile messaging.
In addition, the company also offers a range of flexible financial solutions ensuring that its goals are wholly aligned with those of its clients. This was particularly important during the uncertain economic climate in late 2008 and 2009 as many clients found their marketing budgets under pressure. In 2009 alone, ReMark provided nearly US$50 million of financing to its partners to help reduce new business strain and strengthen their capital position.
And to improve client persistency and retention, ReMark offers a range of customer management programmes, including service calls and appointment generation activities, which target the under-serviced and/or orphaned customers. One such programme executed in 2009 cut the average policy lapse by half for targeted customers.
ReMark’s joint creation of the annual Asia Bancassurance Conference demonstrates its ongoing commitment to building and sharing knowledge among the industry. It also regularly sponsors other conferences and forums such as the Asia CEO Summit, Pacific Insurance Conference and Takaful Conference. In addition, the Amsterdam-based ReMark Academy has trained over 50 people from Asia in 2009.
ReMark has offices in nine locations in Asia, with over 60 marketing professionals solely focused on helping its partners enhance their business franchise through offering insurance solutions via alternative channels. ReMark Asia, ReMark Group’s fastest growing business unit, has delivered a five-year CAGR in business value of over 100%, and constitutes 40% of the Group’s total business value.
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Broker of the Year
Marsh
Marsh, a five-time winner of the Broker of the Year award, continues to help clients succeed in unpredictable environments.
One of the largest brokers in Asia, Marsh has capitalised on the difficult economic conditions of the past two years.
Identifying the need for more education, Marsh embarked on a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness among key risk issues facing businesses in Asia. In the past year, it held a record number of seminars, published a record number of issue-based white papers and clients alerts, and launched a record number of innovative and interactive tools.
In response to the global financial crisis, Marsh developed a cost reduction campaign to help companies manage risk while protecting their balance sheets. Over the past year, it launched an interactive tool to help clients track the financial strength and security of their insurers; a risk management solution designed exclusively for companies listing on the Singapore stock exchange’s Catalist board; and, together with Munich Re, a performance guarantee insurance solution for the solar panel manufacturing sector in Asia.
Last December, Marsh was appointed as the Asia Development Bank’s (ADB’s) consultant for political risk and trade credit insurance after a competitive tender process, which included the incumbent broker. The firm now ensures that ADB’s credit and political risk guarantee programme is consistent with best market practices, and keeps ADB abreast on all related trends and issues.
Marsh has recorded impressive growth. For the year ended 2009, it achieved revenue growth of 4% compared to the previous year, a significant achievement against the backdrop of the challenging economic environment. Marsh’s net operating income increased by 26%, demonstrating prudence in expense management. The company also recorded an 11% increase from 2008 to 2009 in expanded business with current clients.
Marsh’s acquisition of HSBC Brokers, completed on 31 March 2010, has added around 300 colleagues in the region and solidified its leadership position in Asia. The move has launched Marsh into the top spot in Hong Kong, and significantly boosted its operations in China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam.
Marsh’s continued leadership of the industry – illustrated through its innovative solutions, risk advice and client service – has made it a deserving recipient of the coveted Broker of the Year award once again.
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Life Reinsurer of the Year
Swiss Re
Swiss Re has overcome the challenges of 2009 to win the Life Reinsurer of the Year accolade for the third time.
Swiss Re achieved a big turnaround in 2009. After its worst financial year in history, it returned to the black in 2009 with a net income of CHF506 million (US$500 million), through underwriting profitability and cost discipline. Its share price rebounded 168% from CHF 19.38 on 1 April 2009 to CHF 51.9 on 31 March 2010. Its capital position also improved steadily, resulting in estimated capital excess of the AA level of more than CHF 9 billion, by the end of the year.
Despite the challenges of 2009, Swiss Re kept clients at the top of its priority. It helped clients tackle solvency issues through roundtables and seminars in China, Japan and Southeast Asia; supported long-term health guarantees in Japan; brought high-net-worth medical insurance to China; and opened a retakaful branch in Malaysia.
The company also supported new business pricing with active analytics, continuing to provide life & health insurers by identifying, interpreting and projecting adverse trends well after new products were introduced. This was particularly valuable to medical insurance clients in South Korea and China, as well as life insurance and micro-health areas in India. By maintaining its support for clients even after new products were launched, and by monitoring and analysing business as it emerged and feeding back the findings to clients, Swiss Re helped them to better understand product performance versus expectation. This also enabled rapid design refinement which was instrumental to the success of many products.
Swiss Re has also maintained its commitment to sharing its technical knowledge with free access to research and many publications including sigma. It carried out a survey of risk appetite among the Asia Pacific’s 20 to 40 year-olds and provided data to clients for mining. Swiss Re also partnered with Boston Consulting on a China bancassurance study, which looked into the paradox between the high growth in bank-led policy sales and the unsophisticated products offered.
Higher professional standards have been promulgated through Swiss Re Academy Asia, which has trained over 1,200 individuals, as well as through various wide-ranging events to foster knowledge sharing with clients across Asia. Swiss Re has continued to train young underwriters in China and South Korea, and has run intensive underwriting training for young medical professionals in India.
For its efforts in enhancing the stability and security of the Asian life reinsurance industry in an exemplary manner, Swiss Re has again been recognised as Life Reinsurer of the Year.
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Reinsurance Broker of the Year
Guy Carpenter
A winning combination of its global platform with local knowledge and execution capabilities has helped Guy Carpenter clinch the Reinsurance Broker of the Year title for the fourth time.
The year 2009 has been the best performing one of Guy Carpenter’s Asia Pacific region to date, with organic growth of over 20% and an increase in operating income of 95%. This performance was supported by 98% client retention and significant new business production, driven by innovation in areas such as microinsurance and agriculture.
In 2010, Guy Carpenter placed the world’s first pure micro-reinsurance programme in India, protecting five insurers for their shares of a government-sponsored critical illness scheme covering 13 million low-income families. With underlying premiums exceeding US$100 million annually, this programme has become one of the largest international transfers of microinsurance risk.
To extend its global agricultural expertise to Asia, Guy Carpenter seconded staff to its agricultural centre in Minneapolis, USA, and consulted with agro modelling specialists to develop specific tools such as the China Crop Model. This helped to inform its clients and attract new and well-placed capacity for the growing crop business. Through such targeted modelling capabilities and the development and placement of advanced reinsurance solutions, Guy Carpenter saw revenue growth exceeding 300% in the Asian agricultural sector.
Guy Carpenter recognises that traditional insurance and reinsurance products will not always be the most effective solutions to rising catastrophe losses. To help its clients take advantage of other risk transfer solutions available, Guy Carpenter extended its “GC Securities” investment banking and insurance-linked securities unit to Asia through adding global and regional resources.
The company demonstrated innovation in 2009 by significantly enhancing its dynamic financial analysis tool, MetaRisk®, improving simulation speed and adding both multi-year and full internal capital modelling capabilities. Guy Carpenter also rolled out the next generation of its portfolio management platform, i-aXs®. With re-engineered mapping capabilities, a new user interface, faster connection and the addition of country-specific features, the number of i-aXs® licences across Asia increased by 40%.
Guy Carpenter responded to clients’ needs in other ways during the financial crisis, placing additional reinsurance for clients when necessary, so as to augment their capital base. It also provided clients with an innovative reinsurer credit analysis service, delivered weekly. Once the immediate crisis passed, Guy Carpenter reinforced best practices in strategic risk and reinsurance management, working with the Wharton Business School to conduct seminars in Tokyo, Beijing and Singapore.
Such achievements have made Guy Carpenter a worthy winner of the Reinsurance Broker of the Year award.
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General Reinsurer of the Year
Allianz SE Reinsurance Branch Asia Pacific
Allianz SE Reinsurance Branch Asia Pacific is the General Reinsurance Company of the Year for the second time running, thanks to its client focus, consistently sound technical advice and tailor-made solutions.
Since establishing in Singapore more than 10 years ago, Allianz SE Reinsurance has proven itself to be a committed reinsurer in Asia, displaying a dedication to long term client relationships and building an extensive knowledge of local market conditions.
With a centralised structure – being the only Allianz Reinsurance office in the Asia Pacific – that brings together a pool of expertise and resources, it operates across 24 countries, including the MENA region, and serves more than 180 clients.
By combining in-depth market knowledge, forward thinking and detailed analysis using in-house technology and experts, Allianz SE Reinsurance offers intelligent insurance solutions to meet the needs of the market. In response to the need for crop insurance and with strong support from the Allianz Center of Competence in Zurich, the company took on the challenge of managing agricultural risks across the Asia Pacific region. Since mid-2009, Allianz SE Reinsurance has been leading and writing crop treaties in China, India, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. In less than a year, it held significant shares in crop treaties and became a leading underwriter in the China and Australia markets.
Recognising the importance of microinsurance, Allianz SE Reinsurance successfully developed a micro-endowment product, which manages children’s education and provides added benefits such as endowment and critical illness coverage. The new product is expected to generate sizeable premiums for the client.
Allianz SE Reinsurance has reinforced its industry leadership by hosting various workshops and conferences, and presenting at or sponsoring various industry events. Its CEO, Scott Ryrie, sits on various committees such as the Singapore Reinsurance Association and the Singapore College of Insurance’s Board of Examiners. Allianz SE Reinsurance regularly participates in the General Insurance Association’s graduate development programme, and is also part of Nanyang Technological University’s Institute of Catastrophe Risk Management and Regional Development Committee.
The company has also emphasised the importance of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. Employees are expected to adhere to the Allianz Group’s Code of Conduct that governs business ethics and compliance. They have also been encouraged to give back to the society, for example by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.
With its excellent financial strength and security rating of “AA” from Standard & Poor’s, Allianz SE Reinsurance continues to provide meaningful lead capacity in both treaty and facultative businesses. As a result of its commitment to clients and the industry as a whole, Allianz SE Reinsurance has grown its gross written premiums by 45% whilst achieving consistently good profitability.
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Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Aviva Life Insurance Co India
Aviva Life Insurance of India impressed the judging panel by demonstrating how corporate social responsibility can be closely and successfully tied with business strategy.
In India, there are 59 million children between six and 14 years who do not attend school. Of those who do, 40% drop out before completing their primary education. This has spurred Aviva Life Insurance of India to launch its “Street to School” and various other initiatives aimed at improving access to education.
As the name implies, the objective of “Street to School” is to help underprivileged children stay in school; the vision is to impact the lives of 50,000 children by 2012. There are currently nine “Street to School” projects across five states in India, backed by a commitment to spend £400,000 (US$615,000) over three years. This will be supplemented by voluntary employee contributions totalling US$100,000 over the same period.
In 2009, employees of Aviva India raised £30,000 through voluntarily donating one day of salary. The amount collected will be spent on various schemes such as setting up education facilities for children, carrying out regular health checks and immunisation, efforts to enable slum areas to receive government assistance, and education on the effects of substance abuse.
Aviva India has also involved the community at large in its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Last November, it launched a book donation drive, mobilising the citizens of Delhi to build “The Great Wall of Education”. Over 123,000 books were collected and distributed to projects working towards the education of underprivileged children. Volunteers appointed by Aviva sorted the books according to target age group, language and usability before sending them to the different projects run by Save the Children, a non-governmental organisation, or recycling them.
Besides Save the Children, Aviva India has also partnered with Child Rights and You (CRY) to facilitate education for underprivileged children. The projects with both NGOs – which have long track records in this area – are spread across five states in India. In addition, Aviva India partners with over 140 NGOs in India. Eighteen per cent of Aviva India’s employees volunteered with their local NGOs in 2009, benefiting a total of 8,095 people in the process.
Aviva India has successfully aligned its CSR strategy to its business objectives. Its suite of products, centered on its “Education is Insurance” theme, aim to give parents peace of mind when planning for their children’s education. The programme has reaped rewards, with child plan contribution to total revenue increasing from 2% in January 2009 to 10% in December 2009.
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Green Company of the Year
Sompo Japan Insurance
Sompo Japan’s long-running green programme and its tireless efforts in championing green initiatives have made it the clear winner of the Green Company of the Year.
Sompo Japan launched its green programme nearly 20 years ago, when it set up the Department of Global Environment Office. Since then, it has been at the forefront of several green initiatives.
In 1997, Sompo Japan was the first financial institution in Japan to acquire ISO 14001 certification. A year later, it introduced an environment management system for the entire company and published its first annual environment report – the first financial company in the country to do so.
Sompo Japan has promoted resource conservation internally through its CO2 reduction strategy which has set a mid-term reduction of 40.5% by 2020, and long-term reduction of 56.0% by 2050. In 1999, CO2 emissions fell by 37% from the level in 2002. In addition, the company’s data processing centre has achieved zero emissions in waste.
The company’s promotion of environment-friendly practices has extended to its products and services. These include weather index insurance for farmers in Thailand, soil pollution insurance, discounts on motor insurance for eco-cars and various loan products to promote energy conservation. In 2009, environment-related insurance production made up more than 37% of Sompo Japan’s total net premium written.
As part of its programme to promote education on the environment, Sompo Japan has been offering public seminars since 1993. In 1999, it established the Sompo Japan Environment Foundation as a long-term commitment to environment education. A year later, it started the CSO Learning Scholarship programme, which offers undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern at environmental NGOs, also known in Japan as civil society organisations, or CSOs. Over 500 students joined the programme in 2010.
The company has been deeply involved in establishing the Nippon Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF). Since 1992, the KNCF has received ¥1.3 billion (US$15.5 million) in donations that go towards nature conservation projects in Asia.
Sompo Japan has also been lobbying other insurance providers to make a positive difference to the environment, by making an effort to expand green purchasing to include insurance agencies.
Sompo Japan’s long-running green programme has been recognised internationally. This year, it was chosen as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations for the second consecutive year. It has also made it to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 10 straight years.
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Technology Initiative of the Year
Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd
For transforming the delivery of micro-health insurance services, India’s Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO) has won the inaugural Technology Initiative award.
Lack of awareness, shortage of formal financial services infrastructure in rural areas, excessive paperwork and the absence of accurate data are common problems faced in microinsurance. In India however, the sector has been revolutionalised by FINO’s technological solution, which enables insurance companies to serve the needs of customers at the bottom of the pyramid while maintaining financial viability. It has also unlocked a potential Rp 45 billion (US$962 million) in the microinsurance market.
In 2008, the government launched a micro-health insurance project – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) – targeted at the below poverty level (BPL) population in India. RSBY is the country’s first social security scheme that embraces a profit motive, involving 20 insurance companies, public and private hospitals and the state and central governments.
As a technology provider for RSBY, FINO contributed to the design and technical specifications for the technology behind the biometric smart cards used in this scheme, within a short span of four months. This included process flow design for RSBY, enrolment and card issue specifications, transaction system specifications and smart card layout. In doing so, it facilitated the standardisation of the delivery platform, the back-end database management system and the data maintenance format.
This effectively overcame the issues faced in earlier government schemes, which were plagued by design and implementation problems and were therefore unable to reach out to the unserved or underserved segments. Now, the entire process from hospitalisation to claims settlement has been made easy, paperless, cashless and expeditious. The paperless architecture of the technology also renders it environmentally friendly.
Migrant BPL families find the cards useful. The card design allows it to be used for multiple applications, making it flexible enough to add on other services like public distribution system subsidies, education vouchers and other welfare schemes. More importantly, BPL families now have an alternative means of accessing microinsurance protection to help tide them over health setbacks. They also have the power to choose their health service provider, thus creating an incentive for providers to improve the quality of their services.
At present, FINO serves more than seven million micro-health insurance customers under RSBY, which now covers more than 96 districts in five states. It also works actively with the central and state governments, as well as public and private entities in the health services sector.
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