Life insurance firms expect to rely more on IT
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Life insurers are focusing on technology development to enhance competitiveness and better match products to market requirements.
Krungthai-Axa Life Insurance in Thailand has set aside a three-year budget of US$30 million to develop information-technology systems to reinforce sales and pull in more policyholders.
Chief executive officer David Korunic said yesterday that each of the eight countries in Asia where Axa Group operates had the same plan to improve technology, but a different budget in line with market size.
Krungthai-Axa hopes that technology will help expand its 1.6-million customer base, support the agency sales channel and cope with changing lifestyles.
E-services, which are under development, will strengthen the agency channel even though its premiums are less than those from bancassurance.
The company in the first half enjoyed boisterous growth of 40 per cent year on year in new business to Bt8.12 billion and 35 per cent in total premiums to Bt23.8 billion.
Bancassurance at Krungthai Bank was a key contributor to first-half new business. Of total new premiums of Bt8.12 billion, Bt5.3 billion was generated by this channel.
Bancassurance accounts for 66 per cent of total premiums, followed by agents at 33 per cent and corporate solutions at 1 per cent.
Competition in the life-insurance market in the second half will remain serious because companies will focus on offering policies that match with seasonal tax deductions, so the company will focus on the agency channel to sustain the growth of new business.
Roger Deacon, chief distribution officer, said second-half agency premiums would exceed those in the first half.
Bancassurance in general will contribute 55 per cent of total new business.
At Dhipaya Life Assurance, IT-system improvement is expected to help the company enhance efficiency under the customer-centric model and to be more advanced once the Asean Economic Community (AEC) takes effect next year.
Kitti Chunhachawaluang, chief agency and marketing officer, said the firm was improving personnel programmes as it wanted to ensure quick and convenient service.
To be prepared for the AEC, Dhipaya Group has conducted a feasibility study on penetrating Myanmar and Cambodia after starting operating in Laos last quarter.
Dhipaya Life is a member of Dhipaya Group, which is expected to open in Myanmar and Cambodia next year, said Nopporn Boonlapo, CEO of Dhipaya Life.
The company hopes to clear its retained losses of about Bt100 million this year as part of the plan to float 2 million shares to the public and list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in the third quarter of next year.
The company will appoint a financial adviser this month.
It projects gross premiums of Bt5 billion this year after recording Bt1.85 billion in the first half.
It plans to rise into the top five in new premiums in three years from 13th among the 24 life-insurance companies in the country currently.
The company also targets gross premiums of Bt5.6 billion and net profit of Bt560 million next year.
Net profit jumped 194 per cent to Bt200 million in the first half of this year from Bt76 million in the same half last year and is climbing towards Bt500 million for the whole year.
