 Life Insurance Company of the Year
Great Eastern Life Assurance
Winning the Life Insurance Company of the Year award, Singapore’s oldest life insurer takes pride in its in-depth understanding of the local market and has earned high regard not only for its innovative products, but also for equipping distributors with tools and technology necessary to achieve higher productivity and to serve clients professionally.
Great Eastern’s more than 100 years of operations in Singapore has given it in-depth knowledge and understanding of the market, allowing it to provide for the insurance needs of Singaporeans and contribute to the growth of the local life insurance business.
At the same time, its understanding of customers has enabled it to keep its leadership position in the face of strong competition, and to retain its pole position in bancassurance.
True to its spirit of innovation, the company was first to introduce a critical illness product in the market, and became the first local insurer to launch a universal life plan and the first of its kind EarlyPayout CriticalCare, which provides protection against earlier or less severe stages of critical illnesses.
The company’s strategies revolve around providing support and building meaningful relationships with distributors and customers. It has invested in developing its tied agency force and leveraged on its strategic partnership with its parent company, OCBC Bank, to provide products and services to augment its suite of offerings. In 2009, Great Eastern and OCBC Bank won 'Excellence in Bancassurance' award at the Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Award.
To enable distribution representatives to do their job more efficiently and effectively, the company has equipped them with necessary infrastructure and tools, such as EMAS (Electronic Mobile Advisory Solutions), which helps them work in a paperless environment and speed up transaction processing. As a result, agency productivity is high and the company ranks top in average agency productivity per agent in terms of new business weighted premium.
The company also ensures policyholders enjoy excellent customer service and value-added products. In a survey conducted in 2010 by an independent firm, which benchmarked Great Eastern with its major competitors, the insurer ranked No.1 in customer satisfaction, while its products and services ranked first in terms of value-for-money.
To show further commitment to customers, the company launched Great Eastern Financial Advisers (GEFA) in March 2011, the industry's first hybrid model that combines the strength of a major insurer and a financial advisory firm. This gives customers the best of both worlds.
Through sound financial management, the insurer’s asset size had grown from S$27 billion (US$21.18 billion) in 2008 to S$31 billion in 2010, up about 15%. Standard & Poor's has rated its financial strength and counterparty credit ratings at 'AA-', while its Capital Adequacy Ratio consistently exceeded 200%, well above the minimum regulatory ratio of 120%.
Its framework of processes is regularly reviewed by the company's Board Committees, with priority given to achieving high standards of corporate conduct. The company commits to continue its efforts in raising standards of service and in striving to be the industry benchmark.
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General Insurance Company of the Year
MS&AD Insurance Group
Fresh from its formation as a strategic alliance of three Japanese insurers, MS&AD made news last year with its bold move to solidify its footprint in Asia. Amidst such a move, stakeholders have remained the focus of its initiatives and innovations.
Last year was a record one for MS&AD in its commitment to business excellence. A result of a strategic alliance between Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Aioi Insurance and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Company, the group solidified its footprint in Asia last year with its partnership with Hong Leong Financial Group in Malaysia.
The deal saw Hong Leong Assurance’s (HLA) entire general insurance business transferred to MS&AD’s Malaysia subsidiary, making the group the largest general insurer in the country by net premium. The integration with HLA increased the Malaysia subsidiary’s market share by 37%, extending its reach via 20 nationwide branches, over 1,000 staff, 3,000 agents and four bancassurance partners.
In Singapore, the 2010 merger of its two subsidiaries boosted the group’s leadership as the integrated entity became the third-largest general insurer in the country, with US$227 million in GWP. The increased financial strength and operational efficiencies of the merged subsidiary brought enhanced market penetration, distribution networks, products and services, and costs.
With presence in emerging Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, MS&AD has become the first and only foreign-based general insurer to have operations and representation in every ASEAN country. Its strong regional presence positions it well to provide long-term support for crucial partnerships with global corporate accounts, while anticipating future needs in different markets.
Amidst its effort to further grow its presence in the region, stakeholders have remained the focus of its initiatives and innovations. In Malaysia and Singapore, a careful preparation ensured seamless integration to minimise any disruption to partners and customers.
The Asia regional office also embarked on a strategic process standardisation initiative, where for over 12 months, more than 640 core processes were streamlined into just 43 to improve efficiency and
service delivery.
All MS&AD’s Asia business units adhere to a well-defined Risk Management Strategy & Policy spanning underwriting, management and operational risks. An enterprise-wide risk management programme actively monitors the risk management activities at each country level, ensuring compliance and prudent capital management.
Its core values of being customer-focused, integrity, teamwork, innovation and professionalism are ingrained into the company culture and upheld by staff through systematic awareness and development programmes. Employees are provided with opportunities to stay updated of industry trends and to develop professionally through in-house and external training programmes across all business areas.
Taking talent development seriously, it developed last year a global trainee programme which offered employees opportunities to work in different parts of Asia and the rest of the world. Since 2006, it has identified more than 170 high-potential employees in the region to participate in the Emerging Leaders’ Programme, a signature programme in partnership with Singapore Management University.
Through a strategy of business excellence, MS&AD is bent on continuously striving to be the best in key areas to meet future challenges and to deliver superior value to customers and shareholders, and to remain an employer of choice for its people.
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Educational Service Provider of the Year
The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance
ANZIIF is once again the Educational Service Provider of the Year for its effort to further expand its services across Asia and to develop greater educational and professional standards in the region.
The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) plays a key role in developing and enhancing the educational and professional standards of Asia Pacific’s insurance industry.
Engaging with insurance practitioners at all levels and across all sectors to develop and deliver the most up-to-date educational services, ANZIIF continued to expand its services and to provide educational leadership last year across Asia in China, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Its growth in 2010 saw the expansion of its presence in China and the appointment of a Shanghai-based administrative/liaison officer. The initial focus will be on assisting the project team, which is developing a bespoke programme for a leading Chinese insurer and on establishing a co-operative relationship with the Shanghai Finance University.
Last year, ANZIIF saw two leading Chinese general insurers adopt its Staff Accreditation Scheme. The partnerships involved more than 1,500 managers completing the Certificate IV-based Competency Assessment Exam with an initial group of 200 managers then embarking on Diploma and Advanced Diploma studies. China’s Insurance Professional College also partnered with the Institute to promote and market ANZIIF-certified education products and services in the country.
For the rest of the region, ANZIIF demonstrated its continued leadership in insurance education by hosting the internationally-recognised Annual Life and Health and General Insurance Conferences in Hong Kong.
ANZIIF also developed last year the first-ever takaful competencies for the Malaysian insurance industry in partnership with LIMRA LOMA and the Malaysian Insurance Institute, to serve as a standard reference guide in human capital development in the sector.
It implemented its online exams capability last year, allowing students from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand to take their exams in a supervised environment within their own workplace.
In April 2010, it successfully launched its first online event, which was made available to its members and the broader industry. These free-to-air presentations have become part of a vast library of knowledge that ANZIIF provides the industry. It also launched a new membership level for Hong Kong – Affiliate Membership – to recognise the levels of education and knowledge that are required and regulated in the local market.
Also last year, an Iraqi delegation met with ANZIIF to learn more about the Australian insurance industry and its products and services. Following the visit, the Institute formed an agreement to provide a series of training programmes to Iraqi insurers to help them rehabilitate the country's insurance industry.
Special Award:
Micro Insurance Academy
for its exceptional contribution of bringing insurance to the masses.
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Service Provider Of The Year
BELFOR Asia Pte Ltd
What set BELFOR Asia Pte Ltd apart as a service provider are its experienced and long-serving personnel committed to responding to clients’ needs, even in highly challenging environments.
BELFOR Asia Pte Ltd, which provides recovery services for properties affected by disasters, has been a trailblazer in property recovery services in the region. With no professional incident recovery available yet in Asia before it set up shop in Singapore in 1993, the company began its business in the region by providing seminars to loss adjusters, insurers and reinsurers. Gradually, it started realising its goal of carrying out the recovery of technical equipment and machines, and later buildings and high-tech manufacturing facilities.
Now with branch locations in Singapore, Japan, China and Taiwan, BELFOR provides immediate damage assessment following an incident and a documentation of findings to clients throughout the region. The technical report it provides clients defines how to mitigate further damage from occurring and outlines options for reinstating affected property in the most cost-effective and timely manner. Its consulting services have assisted insurers in reducing claims payments by as much as S$50 million (US$39.6 million) to S$100 million in some years.
Its property recovery services have helped clients save costs, as the cost of property recovery is typically less than 20% of the new replacement price. They enable clients to resume business more quickly and help insurers reduce claims payments – saving them between S$20 million and S$50 million per annum.
The company uses more than 60 different individual processes for decontamination and recovery of property affected by a disaster. This allows the scope of recovery to be widened, the time frame shortened, the quality of work raised, and the cost of recovery reduced.
Creating a benchmark in service quality, BELFOR receives technical and training support from its technical centre in Germany. It has a database containing more than 2,800 technical and training documents available online to personnel at project sites.
The company is known to be highly responsive, providing a disaster recovery specialist at a loss site anywhere in East Asia within 24 hours on more than 90% of the occasions when called, with a maximum response time of 48 hours.
It draws from its strength of having long-serving personnel who have a wealth of experience and proven commitment. When the 11 March earthquake struck North Eastern Japan, BELFOR Japan’s personnel met its customers’ challenge from day one despite the risks created by aftershocks, radiation, below-zero temperatures and snow, as well as hotels without electricity, heating or food. From 13 March, it flew its technical staff to a crippled semiconductor manufacturing facility in Sendai and commenced restoration work. Over the following days and weeks, its staff provided consulting advice to about 40 clients, and began recovery projects at eight client sites. Within five days, it set up a recovery facility at Fukuoka, some 1,000 km from the damaged nuclear plant, starting restoration work from this location on 11 April.
Committed to serving clients with utmost efficiency and quality, its personnel develop and implement customised property recovery solutions, even in demanding environmental conditions, allowing customers to restart business operations promptly.
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Risk Manager of the Year
Bharti AXA General Insurance
The India-based insurer impressed the judges with its trailblazing role in risk management by having an in-house team that provides a wide range of risk management consultancy services to the insured for free.
Within only two years upon its launch, Bharti AXA’s risk management team has redefined the scope and services of a risk engineering team by going beyond the traditional tasks of doing pre-acceptance surveys and providing risk control recommendations to clients.
The company prides itself on being the first insurer in Asia to have an in-house risk management team that provides a wide range of risk management consultancy services to the insured for free. These services have not only gained clients’ appreciation, but have also helped the company acquire business through higher co-shares and new clients. Beyond India, its risk engineers have participated in select overseas surveys in Indonesia.
It scored another first when it became the first insurer to start a free quarterly technical newsletter for safety officers and risk managers, commercial establishments and the general insurance community in India and abroad.
Considering the level of risk management practices possible at SME industries in India, Bharti AXA General Insurance developed a risk-rating system for this segment as opposed to large risks – facilitating the acceptance and pricing decisions by rating and ranking of risks. It also developed a questionnaire for auto rating of preferred SME segments, which evaluates inherent fire hazards and facilitates higher discounts when risks are significantly lower.
Its promotion of risk management culture and practice among its clients does not end with consultancy studies and reports. It also conducts follow-up surveys and if required, provides support in implementing recommendations. Its follow-up survey at Kothari Industrial Corporation, Chennai after Cyclone Laila struck in May 2010 averted a potential loss of INR250,000-500,000 (US$5,100 to $10,200) when Cyclone Jal hit in November of the same year.
Within the organisation, it conducts workshops on marine loss control and specialised risk inspection training programmes for SME champions. Members undergo rigorous classroom sessions, followed by written tests, onsite risk inspections and report writing.
Bharti AXA General Insurance is one of the few companies in India to implement an ERM framework with a dedicated risk management team that has systems and procedures to assess risk, design and implement mitigation measures, create employee awareness and train control operators.
To achieve process excellence in pre-acceptance surveys and reporting, it uses tools such as mapping of coordinates with GPS instruments, satellite images and Munich Re’s Global Hazard mapping software. It continues to upgrade professional standards in risk management by sharing risk information and best practices with other AXA Group entities and through access to AXA Corporate Solutions’
global expertise.
Its multi-disciplinary team of graduate engineers are qualified in insurance, risk management and industrial safety. They are experienced in various manufacturing industries as well as in loss prevention and risk management consultancy firms. Most of them have nearly three decades of experience and have delivered more than 5,000 assignments.
The company hopes that its effort to promote risk management knowledge and practice will set a good example in the region and will help propagate the importance and practice of risk management within and outside the industry.
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Broker Of The Year
Willis Asia
Willis Asia has won the Broker of the Year award for being in the vanguard of providing risk management solutions to help Asian clients mitigate new exposures.
Willis is at the forefront of helping Asian clients mitigate new exposures. With an annual growth of 23.6% expected for the Asia Pacific gaming markets up to 2014, the company is leading the way in providing risk management solutions for hotels and casinos in the region. It established a 10-person Financial & Executive Risk team in Hong Kong last year to advise companies on PI/E&O, D&O and FI liability insurance amidst increased regulatory and operational risks.
The company is also adding value to the growing Asian power and utilities industry. In Malaysia, it drew on its global claims expertise to help a leading power company recover over US$20 million of legacy claims.
It has shown responsiveness to clients’ needs, ensuring, for example, business continuity for customers in Japan when the Tohoku earthquake struck the country in March this year. And to respond to the growing problem for Asian shipping companies of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Willis offices across Asia have introduced a unique anti-piracy insurance solution called Vessel Shield, which besides pre-transit security training, gives ships’ masters real-time advice to help them navigate dangerous waters. So far no ship using the product has been hijacked.
The company continues to show its commitment to the region, increasing its equity stake in its Chinese operation from 51% to 90% last year. It reinforced the importance of Asia to the Group this year when it aligned its Asia Pacific, Middle East and African businesses under a centralised leadership, claims and sales structure in Hong Kong. Currently, Willis has 800 employees and 40 offices in 12 countries across Asia, where it saw an exponential double digit revenue growth in 2010.
As part of its industry leadership initiatives in the region, it is working to position insurance broking as an attractive career path for Asian students. In China, for example, it recruited 15 outstanding candidates last year for its graduate training programme, in addition to several internships for undergraduates.
Likewise, the Willis Research Network, a collaborative effort between public science and the insurance industry, is funding research at six Asian universities on catastrophic man-made and natural perils facing the region. The network’s 2010/2011 research in the region includes the Global Earthquake Model and tsunami modeling in Japan, credit risk in Singapore, and flood modeling in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is also working with the World Bank on ASEAN risk financing and modeling.
With a proven track record of business growth and retention, Willis’ client retention rate was nearly 100% in Asia last year, with significant new business growth. In China, it was made broker of the government’s master insurance scheme for over 10 million farm houses in the Guang Xi Autonomous Region, while in Japan, it won the Nissan Motors account.
As proof of its professional standards, Willis China was rated in July last year the highest quality insurance broker in Shanghai, out of 50 brokers in the city, for the third year running by the
industry regulator.
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Reinsurance Broker of the Year
Aon Benfield
Aon Benfield is the Reinsurance Broker of the Year for its responsiveness to the needs of clients by remaining available to them despite the extreme adversity caused by the natural catastrophes that hit the region.
Aon Benfield’s commitment to be at the service of clients was evident in its decision to remain in Tokyo immediately after the 11 March earthquake, amidst constant aftershocks and the threat of nuclear radiation. Its Tokyo team ensured that all clients had their reinsurance covers by 1 April 2011, renewing or extending more than US$15 billion of catastrophe capacity despite an extremely dysfunctional market.
Its Australia and New Zealand teams also showed their commitment by working around the clock to make sure clients were supported with additional placements, catastrophe back-up covers and renewals. Much of the New Zealand work was performed locally as the company is the only reinsurance broker in the country with a permanent local office. Its claims team expects to collect more than US$15 billion in claims over the coming years on behalf of clients.
To keep clients updated, the company produced timely reports in the wake of the disasters, including industry research papers, post-event field surveys and customised reports focused on potential losses to each client in Australia and New Zealand. During the renewal periods in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, it drew on its extensive global network to secure favourable contract terms for clients in the aftermath of the catastrophic events.
Outside the industry, it had advised government organisations in Australia and New Zealand on risk mitigation strategies for post-event recovery.
Region-wide, Aon Benfield is at the forefront of offering new products and services to its client base in Asia Pacific. Particularly, Aon Benfield Securities provides clients with a full suite of insurance-linked securities products, while InPoint offers a consulting service that has helped clients refine their business strategies to help lower costs, maximise operational efficiency, and increase market share. The past 12 months have also seen the company form specialty practice groups to focus on life, marine, accident and health, agriculture, retrocession, and MGA/Programme risks to bring targeted expertise to clients.
Making major investments in improving analytics tools and in academic research, the company established a Singapore-based team to focus on Asia Pacific natural disaster modeling and launched the first pan-Asian typhoon model, which enables insurers to quantify their financial risks from this peril. In China, it developed a crop model which currently covers the Heilongjiang province and which will model for the country’s provinces by the first quarter of 2012.
Aon Benfield promotes the development of Asia Pacific-based solutions by, for example, developing a national agricultural scheme in Thailand in partnership with the Thai Ministry of Finance, the Thai Insurance Association, and the international reinsurance market. It also established an inwards placement team in Singapore to facilitate the procurement of global facultative business for the Singapore and Asia Pacific markets.
As proof of its commitment to the region, it continues to grow its teams and capabilities in Asia Pacific, with the number of its staff based here projected to grow to 430 this year, up from 390 in 2010. To maintain the highest levels of professional standards, it follows internal operational procedures and supports the development of its employees via leadership and industry training programmes. It also gives staff opportunities to take secondments in other countries to share best practices across Asia Pacific and beyond.
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General Reinsurer of the Year
Munich Re
Munich Re’s dedication to help its Asia Pacific clients manage losses following devastating natural catastrophes has won the judges’ votes for the General Reinsurer of the Year award.
For 130 years, Munich Re has addressed the key challenges of the future and provided financial stability and security around the globe. More recently, it has been looking after its Asia Pacific clients by helping them manage losses following natural catastrophes, providing reinsurance capacity in times of economic uncertainty, and addressing the risks of inflation and low interest rates related to claims expenditure and long-tail risk exposures.
Its local knowledge, superior services, financial security and almost 100 years of experience in Asia Pacific drive its growth in the region, while its 16 offices and more than 350 non-life staff have brought it close to clients to meet their needs.
Its financial strength and tailored reinsurance structures meet the growing need for solvency-motivated reinsurance. Besides offering traditional non-life reinsurance products, it adds value through consultative services. From due diligence to implementation, through practical and innovative solutions, it helps customers achieve growth and profitability.
Its balance sheet solutions help clients fulfil regulatory solvency requirements and rating criteria, and satisfy shareholder demands. An actuarial hub at Munich Re Beijing has been set up to accompany clients in the regulatory approval process with full transparency from inception.
A specialised unit (MCU) in Hong Kong provides unique motor insurance expertise, helping insurers manage their portfolios, and offers advice on business planning, product development, process design and IT. So far, MCU has consulted II insurers, including two new start-ups in Southeast Asia and major clients in China.
With more than 60 facultative underwriters, the company provides day-to-day underwriting, coaching in risk management and technical guidance when it comes to complex engineering risks like nuclear, hydro power or renewable energy projects. Risk management measures are jointly implemented with construction companies and primary insurers.
Munich Re contributes to the Asian economies by allocating huge capacities and expertise, in both reinsurance and cat bonds, for natural catastrophes especially in Japan, China, Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries. It was, for example, among the first reinsurers to provide continuity of support immediately after the 11 March earthquake hit Japan.
Mindful of Philippine insurers’ post-Typhoon Ketsana challenges, the company introduced this year a new reporting tool in Southeast Asia that facilitates simpler and faster natural catastrophe claims settlement within a third of the time.
In anticipation of emerging risks and changing regulations, Munich Re is driving the creation of such insurance solutions as microinsurance, oil spill SOS cover, risk trading/capital market solutions and green technology performance warranty covers.
It has developed precise underwriting guidelines for various classes of business which it shares with cIients in Asia, to ensure a value-driven and prudent underwriting approach. Meanwhile, its Knowledge Management Networks provide direct access to expert knowledge in specialist fields such as nuclear power, engineering, environmental liability and risk modelling.
The company remains the most financially solid reinsurer, and with a combined GWP (except Health) of more than US$5 billion, it is among the leading non-life reinsurers in the region.
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Life Reinsurer Of The Year
Swiss Re
Winning the Life Reinsurer of the Year award for the fourth time, Swiss Re has used its know-how to help insurers in Asia meet their changing demands with innovation.
Swiss Re continues to leverage its global expertise to help Asian insurers enhance competitiveness with innovation. It helped a client gain remarkable competitive edge by developing and introducing a new cancer product in China, while in Korea, it delivered a bespoke solution and signed its first long-term health guarantee treaty to support a client’s business growth.
Working closely with NGOs, governments, brokers and insurers, it assisted companies in providing life and health products with tailored processes to meet the vital needs of India’s low-income group. The schemes covering millions of lives were implemented with Swiss Re’s attempt in understanding the business from bottom up, and involvement before and after implementation.
In Australia, it successfully helped a wholesale loan servicer to launch a new suite of life products sold through mortgage brokers throughout the country. The mortgage protection products included life, terminal illness, trauma and TPD cover, as well as accidental death cover.
The reinsurer has shown its ability to adapt to, and lead the industry to meet changing demands. It helped leading insurers in Asia to design, price and launch new versions of high-end medical products to tap the potential of this segment.
It also helped insurers across the region understand the benefits of reinsurance and to use it in relieving capital strain and transferring risks. Highlights included capital management forums for insurance CFOs in Hong Kong and China, and road shows on Solvency II and its impact on Asia in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. These generated significant interest amongst clients, including an innovative capital management solution offered to a global insurer to provide a cost-efficient, significant reserve relief under the statutory reserving requirements in force in that market.
The reinsurer is also capturing the flourishing takaful market. Its retakaful branch in Kuala Lumpur brought its global solutions to the rapidly growing takaful market in Asia, and clinched a family retakaful treaty with a key client to provide retakaful for investment-linked products, reducing term takaful and female-related illness business blocks.
The company has consistently shown its industry leadership by remaining committed to sharing knowledge and providing free access to high-quality publications, including those on longevity, Solvency II and life insurance, and sigma.
Offering superior service and security to clients, it enhanced its online underwriting manual, Life Guide, to offer clients faster navigation, a more intuitive search engine, multiple page viewing facility, personalised view settings and content updates. Likewise, it fleshed out its automated Life & Health underwriting system, Magnum, to offer clients an impressive range of new functionality, and built a new component for medical insurance with evidence-based rules.
The company had shown strong financial results last year, reporting a total net income of US$863 million, an increase of 74%, including the impact from terminating the convertible perpetual capital instrument issued to Berkshire Hathaway ahead of schedule. Its Life & Health business delivered strong results, with operating income up 18% to US$810 million, fuelled by large deals in Asia. The region contributed strongly, accounting for an all-time high of 15% (13% for Life & Health) of its global net premiums earned in 2010.
Capital-wise, the reinsurer recorded more than US$10 billion by the end of 2010, above S&P’s AA level.
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Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Samsung Life
The panel of judges has given Samsung Life the Corporate Social Responsibility Award this year for leading the CSR movement in South Korea’s financial services industry and for its effort in aligning its programme with the needs of the society through grassroots initiatives.
Samsung Life has pioneered the CSR movement in the South Korean financial services industry since the establishment of its CSR programme in 1982. Over the years, the programme progressed to address a wide range of societal needs, and since 2007, the company has donated more than US$60 million annually to initiatives that reach out to the Korean society.
After reviewing its CSR approach to ensure that its focus was in tune with the needs of the society and aligned with its business, the insurer streamlined its CSR vision under three new areas: youth, environment and local communities.
Under the youth theme, the company aimed to address the issue of low birth rate in the country through grassroots initiatives. It explored ways to bridge the gap between proper child rearing and birth rate by developing a programme designed to offer appropriate parental coaching and skills to help parents develop their children’s potential.
In the inaugural year of the programme, Samsung Life committed over US$500,000 to develop it, and partnered with Seoul City Hall to effectively promote proper child rearing, conducting sessions for 500 expectant couples and 500 parents of newborn babies.
Also part of the youth programme is addressing Korea’s high incidence of teen suicides, which is the highest among OECD member countries. Recognising the fact that most suicide cases in the country stem from family problems, with one in three students taking his life over family-related issues, the company sought to help teens mend family conflicts.
It identified 40 middle schools with some of the highest dropouts and crimes in the first year of the programme. Committing US$700,000, the company donated drums to these schools, provided them with instructors, and helped them form “drum clubs”. Any student interested in learning to play the drums can join a club and play the instrument at no cost.
While the company is still gathering data on the impact of the drum clubs on teenagers, it noted that a middle school reported a 95% drop in the number of crimes involving teenagers since the introduction of the clubs. Encouraged by this result, Samsung Life plans to expand its list of schools to 200 over the next two years.
The company has also adopted an “environment vision” in its aim to expand its CSR efforts beyond the local shores, initiating a mangrove tree planting in Pachaburi, Thailand. About 35 volunteers planted more than 5,000 mangrove trees in the programme’s inaugural year, with plans to plant 1,000 trees each year going forward.
To help local communities, the insurer has partnered with local farming communities through its 900 branch offices, with each employee volunteering 7.5 hours on average to help with farming work.
Employees also voluntarily donate KRW5,000 (US$4.70) a month to Samsung Life’s Heart Fund foundation, which has raised a significant amount for local communities. Likewise, the company has seen success in its annual blood donation drive which, in 2010, saw 700 employees and agents donating 511 units of blood, helping save more than 1,500 lives.
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Green Company Of The Year
HSBC Insurance
HSBC Insurance has bagged the Green Company of the Year award for developing a corporate culture committed to long-term environment sustainability and to achieving eco-friendly operations.
HSBC Insurance has made eco-friendly operations and commitment to long-term sustainability an entrenched part of its corporate culture. As part of the HSBC Group, the world’s first carbon-neutral bank, it upholds an environmental management system (EMS) to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment and encourage staff awareness of environment protection.
It carefully measures and documents environmental factors, including its air emissions, noise control, waste management, water pollution and handling of dangerous goods. They are regularly reviewed to identify new opportunities for EMS improvement.
Throughout its offices, HSBC Insurance has introduced lighting sensors to minimise waste, which helped reduce power consumption by 40% and 31% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. To address paper wastage, the company has eliminated daily reports, cutting down its printing by 23% in 2009 and 2010 compared to that in 2008. It also uses managed print service (MPS), which replaces individual photocopiers, office printers, fax machines and scanners with a single multifunction device. This allowed HSBC Asia Pacific to cut its printing and photocopying cost by 36% and 31% in 2009 and 2010 respectively compared to 2008.
In Hong Kong, as part of its Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Paper Saving Project, it offers an e-platform that gives customers the option to almost entirely eliminate printed communications. The company has also converted paper-based correspondence to email communications wherever possible, resulting in an estimated saving of HK$3.58 million (US$460,291) in 2010. It further saved HK$0.8 million last year through its eAdvice for corporate medical claims, which involves handling medical claims by e-channels instead of paper communications.
The company also gives its employees opportunities to do their part for the environment. To celebrate World Environment day on 5 June, it organised an Environment Month in June this year, featuring educational programmes to bring awareness to environmental issues. It joined HSBC Bank’s “green market” and roadshow programmes this year to help inspire its people to adopt a “green” mindset.
Throughout the year, the insurer complements these efforts with other activities featuring green and eco-friendly themes. It has hosted an Organic Food Fair and an annual bazaar, which sells employees’ recycled personal items to raise money for local charities.
HSBC Insurance became the first insurer in Hong Kong to integrate climate change efforts into its business. Its Green HomeSurance automatically upgrades replacement household appliances to a government-approved, energy-saving-certified model. Likewise, its Green TravelSurance dedicates 1% of premiums earned to support the installation of eco-friendly blocks in 11 school campuses. The blocks feature a unique technology proven to enhance air quality.
Early this year, the company also sponsored the Go Green @ School FOTOMO competition, which aims to strengthen Hong Kong students’ perception of environment issues and help them express their vision for green living.
Going forward, the company pledges itself to continue promoting green and sustainable business by seeking new ways to inspire its employees, customers, suppliers, business and the community at large to do their part in helping protect the environment.
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Technology Initiative Of The Year
RMSI Private Ltd
India’s RMSI Private Ltd has clinched the Technology Initiative of the Year award for developing an innovative solution that helps insurers better identify, assess and manage risks.
RMSI developed an innovative solution, called Profiler for Insurance Exposure and Risk (PIER), to provide users with an integrated view of exposure, hazard and business data at postal code resolution for the entire country. PIER uses the latest geographic information system (GIS) technologies to help insurance companies improve identification, assessment, pricing and management of risk across various lines of business.
Among other things, it addresses the need of the general insurance industry to achieve sustainable growth. It enables insurers to create risk indices for various hazards at postal code resolution, and these indices help companies develop risk-based ratings. Likewise, it provides a comprehensive risk profile report for every postal code in India, helping underwriters better understand the location, underlying geography and susceptibility to natural hazards.
Addressing the need of insurers to manage risk by regularly monitoring exposure accumulation, PIER provides a simple and intuitive interface to monitor and report accumulations at various levels. These levels could be by administrative regions, pin codes or hazard zones. They can also be based on user-defined zones. All the accumulated reports are highly visual map-based thematic displays that make it easy to identify overperforming and underperforming areas.
The solution also helps insurers get a better understanding of their book’s sensitivity to various risks. It enables complex geospatial queries that can help understand the impact of a historical natural catastrophic event on current exposure. For example, with PIER, a company can estimate the exposure accumulation that falls within the footprint of the 2005 Mumbai flood event.
By using it, insurers can unlock the value of business intelligence solutions by generating map-based visual reports. Data on various business performance parameters can be easily imported into PIER to generate such reports, which present data with the location context, making it much easier for decision makers to assimilate and analyse them.
As opposed to just meeting the needs of certain companies, PIER can be used by the industry at large and is developed as an industry standard solution that is available off-the-shelf and can be implemented in a week or less. It has, in fact, already been implemented at two leading Indian general insurers.
PIER shows a high level of innovation in responding to the industry’s need, and at the same time responds to the client’s requirement by paving the way for faster services or simpler transaction processes.
It also boosts client satisfaction, as teams will be able to respond faster and more accurately to business enquiries. At the same time, it helps provide a scientific basis for underwriting decisions that help address client concerns.
Besides representing a breakthrough in the industry’s use of technology, it also enables significant improvement in the system of a business area, leading to higher efficiency of service or greater profitability.
With PIER, any general insurer can substantially improve its productivity and agility, resulting in cost reduction and higher client satisfaction. As a whole, it uplifts the industry’s professional standards by improving practitioners’ efficiency.
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Personality Of The Year
David L Fried
From being a broker trainee, David Fried rose to the top echelons of the industry to take over the reins of a global insurance business. But what “Uncle Moustache” – as he is known to many children in Hong Kong – is most proud of is leading the creation of a corporate culture that encourages and values charitable endeavours.
Starting his journey as a broker trainee at an insurance broking business of HSBC in 1984, David Fried had not only fulfilled his dream of travelling the world, meeting new people and experiencing other cultures in his 27-year career. He had also built a notable career that saw him take up the reins of HSBC Insurance’s global insurance business.
From being a trainee, he went on to take up various roles at HSBC, becoming Regional Head of Insurance in Asia Pacific, and Chairman and CEO of HSBC Insurance Hong Kong, before assuming responsibility of the company’s global insurance business.
Under his leadership, the footprint of HSBC Insurance Asia Pacific rapidly doubled in size to become a region-wide manufacturing and distribution network. David’s commitment to excellence and his pioneering spirit also drove the company to new heights across Asia: in Hong Kong, HSBC Insurance became the market leader in all major lines of business (Life, Non-Life, Pensions); in Malaysia, it became profitable after just four years and is now ranked 5th in both life and non-life takaful markets; and in India, it earned a ranking in the country’s top 10 life insurers in its second year of operations and enjoyed new business premium income that surpassed several well-established international insurers.
David was asked to manage HSBC’s global insurance business in 2010, in recognition of these successes in the region. Responsible for some 8,500 employees in more than 50 countries worldwide, he thrived on the challenge of this massive undertaking. By maximising revenues and keeping a firm grip on costs, HSBC Insurance generated a US$3.3 billion profit in 2010.
Amidst such accomplishments, what David is most proud of is the company’s charitable endeavours. Since first arriving in the region in 2006, he had overseen the creation of a corporate culture that encourages and deeply values charitable volunteer service among employees.
He and his family could often be found doing volunteer activities during the weekends. On one occasion, he flew from India to Hong Kong simply to show his support for a small-scale children’s concert. This was why it was no wonder that David was a familiar face to many children in Hong Kong who simply knew him as “Uncle Moustache”.
With his oversight, the company’s sponsorship of charitable endeavours benefitted hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life. A prime example was the “Walk Cuz We Care” charity walk, which raised over HK$7.6 million (US$977,000) for the Hong Kong Cancer Fund and benefitted more than 600,000 cancer patients and their families.
David’s passion for the industry had likewise seen the launch of the HSBC Insurance Course at the Chinese University of Hong Kong – the first corporate-sponsored university course available in Hong Kong.
Although a well-known mover and shaker in the industry, David’s priorities remained clear: he is first and foremost a proud husband and father. His family and community always came first despite the many demands of his job.
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Lifetime Achievement Award
T M Shih
A tireless industry leader, T M Shih has worked hard to transform and grow the Taiwanese insurance sector. For this, the panel of judges has chosen him as one
of this year’s Lifetime Achievement awardees.
A true-blue insurance man, T M Shih has been in the industry for over 40 years – starting from an entry-level job at Fubon Insurance in 1971 and becoming its President in 1996 and Chairman since 2003.
His is not a typical longtime career though, as besides devoting his time to only one company for 40 years, he has zealously lent his leadership and expertise to the industry throughout his career.
In addition to his former chairmanship of the Non-life Insurance Association of R.O.C. (NLIA), Mr Shih has led various other institutions, including as Chairman of the Insurance Society of R.O.C., Vice Chairman of Taiwan Financial Roundtable, Chairman of Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance, Honorary Chairman of NLIA, and Executive Director of General Chamber of Commerce of R.O.C.
But more than just holding such key roles, he has shown a character of integrity, vision, persuasion and communication in his leadership of the Taiwanese insurance industry.
As Chairman of NLIA from 2004 to 2010, he successfully steered the industry through the second phase of the three-stage tariff liberalisation. He used his bridge-building skill and leadership to secure a mutual understanding between the industry and the regulator, culminating in a consensus among insurers on a Self-discipline Agreement towards consumer rights protection by eschewing unhealthy price competition.
Armed with the mission of “making the pie bigger”, Mr Shih worked hard to create new business opportunities by constantly collaborating with the government and association member companies. He finally succeeded in persuading the government to open up the personal accident insurance market in 2001 and the short-term health insurance market in 2008.
As Chairman of Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund since 2008, he worked to raise awareness of the importance of earthquake insurance and negotiated with the government for a tariff rate reduction and an increase in the indemnity limit. This consequently helped raise earthquake insurance’s penetration rate from 24.7% in 2008 to 28.4% in 2010.
Mr Shih conclusively dealt with the liquidation of two insolvent companies – Kuo Hua Insurance in 2005 and Walsun Insurance in 2009 – during his chairmanship of the Non-Life Insurance Stabilisation Fund. His firm leadership helped moderate the diverse interests of the stakeholders under budget constraints, averting potential social problems.
Through his visionary leadership, he infused Fubon Insurance with new dynamics and accomplished two enterprise-reengineering and reinsurance practice optimisation projects. As a result, Fubon outperformed the market in both premium and underwriting profit growths, with more than 20% market share overall and in all major lines of business in 2010 and 113% CAGR from 2004 to 2010.
Leading the industry through various cycles, including deregulation, insolvency crisis and innovative growth, he worked tirelessly to transform and develop the industry in the past 22 years. His gentle but decisive leadership and affable influence have earned him high regard from the industry, both in Taiwan and abroad.
As Dr Tien-Mu Huang, Director-General of the Insurance Bureau, aptly put it: “Mr Shih made considerable contributions in stabilising the order of financial market as well as helping the Financial Supervisory Commission fulfil the policy of exit mechanism.”
“With enthusiasm and selflessness, Mr Shih successfully played the role of a bridge builder among customers, insurance companies, and the government, to find shared solutions to the common challenges and towards future market development,” said Mr En-Shaing Tai, Chairman of NLIA and Hua Nan Insurance Company. “His contributions are well-regarded by the regulators and his peers in the industry.”*
Qin Daofu
Besides dedicating his 50-year career to the industry, Qin Daofu blazed a trail in designing and executing the early stages of reform in China’s insurance sector. For this, he has won one of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards.
An architect and pillar of China’s insurance industry, Qin Daofu designed and executed the very early stages of reform of the Chinese insurance market.
He led the formulation of the China Insurance Law when the People’s Bank of China appointed him as Chairman of the drafting committee. From 1991, Mr Qin and the committee studied the insurance laws and regulations of major industrialised countries, as well as those of developing nations. Based on rigorous research, the committee drafted China’s first insurance law since the country’s founding. The China Insurance Law was passed by the 14th plenary session of the 8th National People’s Congress in June 1995, and was officially issued in October 1995.
Mr Qin created a model under which insurers received support from local government to grow their insurance businesses. Under his leadership, the People’s Insurance Co of China (PICC), where he was President from 1980 and later, Chairman and President, created China’s first insurance policy for the local nuclear industry. And under his personal supervision, the company financed and participated in the research and publishing of China’s first map on disasters, “The Atlas of Natural Disasters in China”, which was well-received by specialists in disaster control and remains their key information tool.
Mr Qin, who started his career when he joined the Beihai Bank in Shandong as staff in 1945, also established business relations with the Lloyd’s market, and initiated the introduction of ACII exam to China. Now widely conducted in the country, the exam has immensely inspired young industry practitioners to pursue higher levels of proficiency.
In 1985, he signed China’s first satellite insurance policy, and under his stewardship, PICC launched the country’s special export credit insurance policy for electric and machinery industries, helping to boost the market’s foreign trade.
During his term as Chairman & President of PICC from 1984 to 1990, the company saw its annual premium revenue increase from CNY1,336 million (US$209.3 million) in 1983 to CNY14,224 million in 1989, and it accumulated a reserve fund of CNY12,086 million. It was also under his leadership that PICC opened an insurance office in Lhasa, Tibet in 1987, marking the first time Tibet had such an office.
Prior to taking on the leadership role at PICC, Mr Qin was with the China Reinsurance Co Hong Kong, which he founded and led as its first President. Commencing business with an investment of HK$5 million (US$642,865) in 1980, China Re had an annual revenue exceeding HK$23 million by the time Mr Qin left the company in 1984.
Recognising his invaluable contributions to China’s financial services industry, Mr Qin was conferred the “Jiu Ding Lifetime Contribution Award” by the organising committee of Asia and Pacific Finance Summit in 2009. He was also recognised as “One of the Founding Persons of PICC”, and was voted as one of the 10 “Most Outstanding Characters” in the 60-year history of the company.
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