Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd. is stepping up digital investments and refining its product lineup as it repositions for growth in SEA’s competitive insurance market, Group Chief Executive Officer Greg Hingston said.

Olivia Tirona

, Singapore

It plans to grow its products for high-net-worth group and SME owners.

Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd. is stepping up integer investments and refining its merchandise lineup arsenic it repositions for maturation successful Southeast Asia’s competitory security market, Group Chief Executive Officer Greg Hingston said.

“We are revitalising our strategy to fortify really we partner pinch our customers successful their financial well-being,” he told Insurance Asia. “This intends tailoring our propositions to different customer personas to guarantee that they are much reflective of their evolving needs."

The Singapore-based insurer, which refreshed its logo connected its 117th anniversary successful August, plans to grow its products for high-net-worth individuals and small- and medium-sized business owners.

Singapore’s biggest and longest-running insurer is besides rolling retired artificial intelligence (AI) devices to support its advisory network.

Hingston said they are piloting an in-house AI solution, which could trim client-meeting mentation clip from much than 2 hours to nether 30 minutes. 

“When applied crossed nan full agency unit successful Singapore this is expected to prevention half a cardinal hours – allowing our reps to person that into much value clip supporting our customers’ financial readying needs,” he said successful an emailed reply to questions.

Whilst insurers successful Asia person ramped up integer and embedded products, nan CEO said Great Eastern would proceed utilizing aggregate channels—digital, agency, bancassurance, and affinity partners—to meet customers “where they are.”

Here’s nan remainder of nan interview:
 

Beyond your caller logo, what existent changes tin customers expect from Great Eastern?
We took nan opportunity to refresh our logo erstwhile we celebrated Great Eastern’s 117th day and commemorated much than a period of serving generations of customers successful Singapore and Malaysia.

We are revitalising our strategy to fortify really we partner pinch our customers successful their financial well-being, astatine each shape of life. 

We are focused connected tailoring our propositions for various customer personas to guarantee that they are much reflective of their evolving needs. We are besides processing much specialised products and services for definite customer groups, for example, to service nan circumstantial needs of high-net-worth and mini and medium-sized business owners.

We are besides investing successful integer solutions and AI devices to bring best-in-class capabilities to thrust personalised engagement pinch our customers and guarantee they person nan champion proposal and work for their protection, healthcare, wealthiness accumulation and bequest readying needs erstwhile they entree america digitally aliases done our advisors.

How will integer and embedded security impact your accepted agency model, and what equilibrium are you aiming for?
Ultimately, it is simple—we person to beryllium wherever our customers are. And we make this imaginable done different channels specified arsenic nonstop integer engagement channels, our agency and financial advisors, our bancassurance and affinity partners and brokers. 

Insurance tin beryllium a comparatively analyzable product, particularly for life, health, and wealthiness plans. Buying security is simply a considered decision. 

Our financial representatives locomotion alongside our customers done each life stage, and I person heard galore instances of our customers drafting spot and assurance from their financial representatives, particularly during difficult times. 

Having said that, we will request some quality touch and technology. 

The latest exertion is fast-tracking improvements successful nan measurement ample amounts of accusation tin beryllium distilled for customers and improving nan productivity of our advisors. 

For example, we person been piloting an AI solution developed in-house to support our financial advisors successful their individual interactions pinch customers and reducing nan clip needed for customer gathering mentation from complete 2 hours to little than 30 minutes. When applied crossed nan full agency unit successful Singapore, this is expected to prevention half-a-million hours—allowing our reps to person that into much value clip supporting our customers’ financial readying needs.  

Where are nan biggest maturation opportunities successful ASEAN, and really will Great Eastern displacement resources to seizure them?
At present, we are focused connected 2 areas—firstly, genuine achromatic spaces wherever we tin bring thing caller to nan market, and secondly, nan opportunity to deepen our penetration pinch amended propositions.

When you see nan megatrends playing retired crossed nan Asian region successful nan shape of unprecedented wealthiness creation and intergenerational wealthiness transportation led by able and high-net-worth clients, ageing societies and longevity consequence (adequacy of status income and entree to affordable semipermanent healthcare), and exertion aliases AI reshaping nan full worth concatenation from advisory distribution models, aesculapian test and treatments, underwriting and pricing risk, servicing and claims management—this each intends Asia needs much financial readying and insurance, but nan intends of security proviso and depletion is changing. 

With this backdrop, we will proceed to double down connected our market-leading businesses successful Singapore and Malaysia (both accepted and family takaful), and further standard our business successful Indonesia.

Across our different business lines and done our OCBC Group connectivity, location is important worth for america to further unlock. Looking beyond our existent markets, we measure opportunities connected an ongoing basis, and we besides see nan wider OCBC Group marketplace beingness successful position of wherever we could leverage that to grow nan scope of our solutions.
 

Join Insurance Asia community

Since you're here...

...there are galore ways you tin activity pinch america to advertise your institution and link to your customers. Our squad tin thief you creation and create an advertizing campaign, successful people and digital, connected this website and successful people magazine.

We tin besides shape a existent life aliases integer arena for you and find thought leader speakers arsenic good arsenic manufacture leaders, who could beryllium your imaginable partners, to subordinate nan event. We besides tally immoderate awards programmes which springiness you an opportunity to beryllium recognized for your achievements during nan twelvemonth and you tin subordinate this arsenic a subordinate aliases a sponsor.

Let america thief you thrust your business guardant pinch a bully partnership!