Malaysia: Allianz Life sees 35-fold increase in new business

| 03 May 2022

Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd (Allianz Life) posted a 35-fold jump in new insurance businesses set up with estate planning concept in 2021, compared with new businesses achieved in 2020.

Allianz Life CEO Charles Ong said this was encouraging to see and the company will continue to find ways to increase awareness on estate planning among Malaysians.

“There are several myths on estate planning that we would like to debunk, and the biggest one is that it is only for the rich. That is not true – everyone needs an estate plan no matter how little the assets you have,” said Ong, who took over Joseph Gross as CEO on April 1.

In a statement, Ong said, “We were actively pushing the Insurance Trust concept and introduced the Allianz Estate Planner in 2021, amidst the challenging and uncertain year.”

Besides that, Allianz Life has worked with several parties, including the Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) and RHB Trustees Berhad to ensure that its agents to have in-depth knowledge on estate planning which would help them in increasing the public’s knowledge of the subject.

“We want to emphasise to the people that getting an estate plan is a means of protection for your loved ones, especially young children. Without proper estate planning, your assets are at risk of being frozen, which will affect your family in terms of delayed inheritance, and in a worst-case scenario, discontinued income,” added Ong.

The company had taken various steps to boost the public’s awareness on the importance of estate planning.

In 2020, Allianz Life and MFPC signed a training services agreement which enabled Allianz Life agents to enrol in the Council’s Professional Estate Planning Adviser Programme (PEPAP). Through the certification programme, Allianz Life agents were able to gain in-depth knowledge on how to integrate these services into effective financial or estate planning.

In the same year, Allianz Life also partnered with RHB Trustees to provide its customers with trustee services to help manage and protect their legacy for their families.