Obituary - Indonesia: Industry loses an active doyen with death of Mr Rudy Wuwungan
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Jun 2015
Mr Rudy Wuwungan, former CEO of PT MAREIN, ASEAN Secretary General, and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner of the Asia Insurance Industry Awards, renowned as an active leader fiercely devoted to the insurance industry even till his last days, has passed away in early May without retiring from the industry.
Having spent more than 45 years in insurance, he saw himself as an “obedient servant for the insurance industry” and even came to Singapore to take part in AIR’s 25th Anniversary Summit to salute the value of insurance to society on 29 April, making a well-prepared speech from the floor as a delegate, reminding the industry to go the extra mile to promote insurance to the masses including finding innovative solutions in helping people cope with global warming.
Setting up an insurance research centre in Asia was one of his pet calls. As a member of the Supervisory Board of Indonesian Senior Executives Association (ISEA), he actively planned a high-profile launch of the English edition of the book: “Indonesia Insurance Industry Towards Harmonization in AEC” at the Asian Motor Insurance Conference in Jakarta in mid-May. (His son Chris Wuwungan attended the launch in his absence). He was also in the midst of setting up the inaugural meeting “group of insurance wise men” for the AEC in Jogjakarta in May.
Pak Rudy, as he is fondly referred to in the industry, is an industry stalwart who started his insurance career in Malaysia, and then move to Germany and Hong Kong before returning to Indonesia to join PT Maskapai Reasuransi Indonesia Tbk (PT MAREIN) in 1979 with several accolades, including making it public. One of his strengths was to encourage the young with opportunities. As a veteran he had many suggestions and projects that he pushed for Indonesia, ASEAN and Asia.
Pak Rudy served his stint as honorary Sec-Gen of ASEAN Insurance Council as well as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Asosiasi Asuransi Umum Indonesia (AAUI). He was also an active chairman of PT Asuransi Wuwungan. He spearheaded the publication of several important insurance research including the Sejarah Asuransi Indonesia (The History of Insurance in Indonesia) and now the AEC Book. He was a great friend of Asia Insurance Review (AIR) and served informally as honorary adviser to make AIR not only the voice but the “actor” for the good of
the industry.
Asia Insurance Review conveys our deepest condolences to the family of Mr Rudy Wuwungan.
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Pak Rudy’s last public speech to the industry
Pak Rudy’s last public overseas attendance and speech was at AIR’s Special 25th Anniversary Summit to salute the “Value of Insurance to Society”. So passionate was he, that Pak Rudy was the first delegate to register for this event and always as a paying delegate, he attended most of AIR’s CEO Summits too.
Here we bring you his last exhortations to the industry.
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| The personal touch despite technology |
Help people suffering from climate change |
Harmonisation in AEC |
| “Technology will rapidly enhance the growth and modernisation of the insurance industry. However, we should not rely too much on technology, because we are created by God the Almighty as human beings. Accordingly we should use our experience and wisdom within the insurance industry. Wisdom is the most important gift of God the Almighty to mankind and we should make use of it. |
Climate change may have serious and irrecoverable impact on human society and nature. Since 2012, I had proposed that the insurance industry should take actions to assist the people affected by typhoons and other natural disasters, which caused widespread floods. Of course, we need big funds (at least according to reports, about US$15 billion) for such actions and we can start by imposing a surcharge premium of US$1 or $2 on life assurance and specific general insurance to be transferred to a reputable bank or to the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank Bank as a Natural Disaster Fund. |
An economically unified ASEAN will represent a market of over 600 million people with a combined GDP of US$2.4 trillion. Its establishment will mark greater integration, especially in trade connectivity and financial connectivity. Tariff and non-tariff trade barriers will be dismantled, including those within the insurance industries. With harmonisation of the ASEAN countries, AEC will certainly progress faster and be more stable. Let us pray that in ASEAN, there will never be any refugee camps, no war and only peace and stability will be in the region.” |