Commentary

Kenneth Koh is the Global Principal and Director of Insurance, Financial Services Practice, SAS Institute.

In recent years, Asian insurers have increasingly turned to data and analytics tools to drive growth and improve operational efficiency.

When cities and countries across the world finally come out of lockdown, the society that emerges will be fundamentally different.

A banking revolution is sweeping across Asia as increasing numbers of countries introduce new regulatory frameworks for digital banking.

Delivering a step-change in value.

How long did it take to sell 240,000 insurance policies online in 2017? Most insurance leaders across Asia guess “at least a few weeks.

The use of robots to drive tangible business benefits is very much a reality today.

Life insurance companies are under pressure.

One of the key findings of PwC’s 21st Global CEO Survey is that whilst insurance continues to be one of the most disrupted sectors in the global economy and insurance CEOs are extremely concerned about the pace of technology change and cyber threats, surprisingly, they are also optimistic about their organisation’s revenue growth in the next three years.

A major US automaker was involved in three of the biggest product liability payouts of all time, the latest having been in February 2014, based on faulty ignition switches that could shut off vehicle engines during driving, disable power steering and brakes, and prevent airbags from inflating.

Asia is vast geographically, comprises more than 15 major jurisdictions and possesses extreme diversity in terms of the ethnicity of its population, its cultures and the varying stages of economic, social and technological development in each country, making it one of the most varied markets globally.

Asian insurers are riding several positive trends, like the region’s growing middle class and their increasing demand for insurance.

The diverse insurance market in Asia-Pacific sees plenty of growth opportunities and challenges pertaining to distribution and regulation.

Retail insurers in Asia Pacific and around the world have a problem: their customers don’t love them, don’t appreciate them, and don’t stay with them.

Keeping pace with changing demographics, changing customer expectations, as well as technological advances are some of the major challenges that insurers face, and is likely to continue to be a major concern in the next 2-3 years.

Despite significant investments made insurance innovation labs have largely failed to deliver impact beyond positive initial PR stories.