The conference “2012 Vietnam Insurance - Towards customer - centric
insurance" was held by Ernst & Young Vietnam on August 22 in
cooperation with the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority.
According to an insurance
customer survey released earlier this year by Ernst & Young, the
combination of increased expectations and accessible technology meant that the
insurance industry now faced more demanding customers and those service
providers who fail to make a rapid move to a more customer-friendly business
model risk being left behind.
Vietnam’s insurance industry
experienced double-digit growth in the past few years and is forecasted to have
similar grow trajectory in the coming year. The underpenetrated insurance
market in Vietnam offers a sumptuous growth opportunity for domestic and
multi-national insurers. With 70 per cent of population below the age of 40,
Vietnam has a sounded base to develop an attractive young affluent segment.
Together with the strong GDP growth and growing number of the middle class,
there is a year for insurance services.
Saman Bandara, Vietnam insurance
leader at Ernst & Young, said: “Both the number of new policies and
first-year-premium of new business grew faster than total policies and gross
written premium in the last five years. The market experienced a shifted trend
from traditional products to investment products. As such, consumers are
becoming more sophisticated. Their expectation is constantly evolving and the
insurance industry has not always managed to keep pace.”
Ernst & Young global
insurance customer survey found that, while there are variations in customer
attitudes and behaviours around the globe, there are some remarkably consistent
underlying themes about what consumers want and where they expect more from
insurers. “Being customer-centric is the key to develop and sustain business in
a highly competitive market like Vietnam,” Bandara said.
The survey also pointed out that
89 per cent of Asia-Pacific consumers said personal interaction was essential.
“While the number of agents
recruited continues to increase, with CAGR of 27 per cent, we envisage
distribution channels for the industry in Vietnam will become multi
touch-points catering for different segments. Online, bancassurance, mobile and
social media will be deployed for targeted campaigns. This will be more
effective given the some of the younger customers are becoming more
self-directed,” said May Knight, Partner of Ernst & Young Asia-Pacific
Advisory Services.
Besides, Ernst & Young’s
experts emphasized the important role of speed of claim process as always on
top of the list for improvement. While good claim process may not directly
render loyalty, 16 per cent of the surveyed respondents replied that a bad
claim experience will surely encourage switch.
“Claim plays an important part in
the insurer’s operations model. Though it is more crucial for general than life
insurers, a well-managed claims process enables the insurer to deliver high
performance. A number of insurers in the region have already invested in
technologies to transform their customers’ claims experience,” said Ian Cheng,
director for Ernst & Young Advisory Services in Asia Pacific.
Changing customer behaviour
coupled with evolving regulatory environment, especially on consumer
protection, are driving insures to take a more proactive approach to grow their
business. “Insurers that align themselves to a truly customer centric model
will find this transition to the new customer & regulatory regime less
painful, and will gain competitive advantage,” said Bandara.
Nguyen Trang | vir.com.vn
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