Insurers from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore reveal how they are coping.
Welcome to the new normal.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended every aspect of human life, from financial services to sporting events. Governments have imposed lockdown measures in order to reduce movement, and people have foregone their plans and remained at home lest they catch the virus. Massive losses in earnings have resulted in company closures left and right; whilst investments have been put aside to prioritise relief and stimulus measures.
Insurers across the planet are not immune to the detriments of the pandemic. According to a sector report by Moody’s Investor Service, the virus can directly affect the sector through the surge in claims, whilst an indirect effect manifests itself in market fluctuations and the unfavourable impact on business volumes. In particular, heightened mortality rates could trigger an increase in claims for life insurers. The exposure of P&C insurers may be limited although some subsectors may be affected, the report said.
As an example, the indirect effect on business volumes is already being predicted amongst life insurers in Hong Kong, S&P Global Ratings said in a separate report. Revenue and profits are in hot water due to a challenging operating environment made worse by the pandemic. The Hong Kong Insurance Authority’s decision to allow products to be distributed through methods that don’t involve face-to-face contact is a sign of an elevated pressure in the industry, the report added.
If anything, the pandemic has also brought about some key changes in the day-to-day operations of insurers. Lockdowns have forced some to switch to online platforms to maintain relationships between agents and clients, which also led to insurers prioritising the development of their digital tools. Some regulators have allowed products to be sold over the Internet, highlighting the need of the industry to evolve and adapt to changing environments and customer needs. Products themselves have also been upgraded to provide more coverage and benefits to clients who have been hospitalised or have died due to the virus.
To learn more on what’s happening on-ground, Insurance Asia spoke to numerous insurers across the Asia-Pacific region to see how they are holding up amidst the crisis. We asked them about the immediate effects to their business, the changes they have implemented to help their customers and employees and what their plans are once this crisis is over.
Photo courtesy of Pexels.com.
Exclusive statement from a spokesperson
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected China Taiping Insurance (Singapore) operations?
The following measures have been deployed. To safeguard the safety of our employees and in support of the regulatory requirement, 85% of our employees are working from home whilst maintaining productivity and ensuring remote working remains an effective way of doing business. Employees are mobile-ready and have the flexibility to be productive wherever they are working.
We have leveraged on available internal and external technologies to facilitate seamless collaboration and equip employees with necessary tools to work remotely. This also helps to ensure employees continue to feel engaged and connected.
What changes have you made regards to staffing numbers and working arrangements?
We have temporarily closed all our Customer Service Counters at Level 15, 16 and 18 at Springleaf Tower since 20 February 2020. We have activated a business continuity plan with about 85% employees working from home, staggered working hours and social distancing for those working in the office.
In addition, employees working in the office are provided daily lunch boxes to minimise their risk exposure to the lunch crowd. All employees are also highly encouraged to conduct virtual meetings to minimise contact with each other, and defer their travel plans.
We have implemented a higher frequency in the cleaning and disinfection of our offices and have hand sanitisers available on every floor. Each employee has been provided with a personal hygiene and protection care pack which includes masks, a thermometer, and hand sanitiser. All employees are required to take temperature twice daily. Lastly, we have implemented a 14 days leave of absence if any employee or their family members has travelled overseas.
What measures have you implemented to help your customers amidst these trying times?
We have launched a new financial aid to help all our existing and new Life Insurance customers by assuring them additional peace of mind during this challenging time with its complimentary insurance coverage. This initiative provides financial aid upon diagnosis, hospitalization and recovery from COVID-19. Our recovery bonus is an exclusive benefit only offered by CTPIS, something that a COVID-19 patient can look forward to celebrating after winning the battle.
Financial aid benefits overview:
These are applicable for all new policies submission by 29 May and coverage till 31 July 2020.
Our COVID-19 Defer Premium Payment Program for Life Insurance policyholders is a special arrangement to help eligible life insurance policyholders who are affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic so that their insurance protection could remain intact while they defer their premium payment for 6 months. Policyholders will only need to make the premium payment at the end of the deferment period.
For general insurance, the six month premium deferment is also applicable to corporate/individual policyholders with premium above S$2,000, excluding motor, bond & marine cargo insurance. We have also extended the usage of private hire motor policy to include GrabFood and GrabExpress delivery services till the end of the COVID-19 outbreak or the respective policies expiry dates, whichever is earlier.
Have you considered enhancing your products to take any future pandemics into consideration?
We have enhanced our Personal Accident Safe to ensure our customers greater peace of mind during this trying period. China Taiping Insurance Singapore will grant a daily quarantine benefit of S$100 per day up to 14 days, as issued by the Ministry of Health. We will also grant a medical expenses benefit of up to S$500 per policy year. In the unfortunate event of death, a benefit of $10,000 will be paid out.
What has been the immediate effect on your business from a revenue and cost standpoint?
At this point, the economic impact is uncertain. However, for life insurance business, we remain positive as we are primarily in the business of protection and insurance provides security at times of uncertainty like the current situation.
Could you share with us your future plans amidst this pandemic?
China Taiping Insurance is closely monitoring the situation and will work to support MOH’s recommendations. During this challenging period, we will continue to strive to support all our customers in claims and customer services.
Exclusive statement from a spokesperson
Since early February, temperature screening has been implemented at our offices/Customer Service Centres. We have also stepped up cleaning of common areas as well as providing hand sanitizers at all offices and branches. Customer-facing staff are wearing masks, and our Customer Service counters are equipped with hand sanitizers and face masks. Safe distancing measures have been put in place as well.
Employees and financial representatives have been strongly urged to exercise good personal hygiene practices, monitor their health closely and to promptly seek medical attention if unwell. All large-scale gatherings and face-to face meetings have been minimised and safe distancing measures in our offices and meeting rooms have been put in place. The company has also implemented split operations with teams working from different floors and locations, and put in place Work From Home (WFH) arrangements to ensure the safety and well-being of staff.
We recently announced a S$1 million holistic support package to help our customers in Singapore should they be affected by COVID-19. Effective 14 February 2020 until end-2020, Great Eastern customers and/or their immediate family members who are hospitalised due to COVID-19, will receive a cash benefit of S$200 per day of hospitalisation up to a maximum of 60 days. In the unfortunate event that death occurs, a S$20,000 lump sum will be paid out. In addition, we are extending a six-month grace period for life insurance premium payments of customers financially affected by COVID-19, to ensure that their insurance cover continues uninterrupted.
On a national level, we have contributed S$200,000 to provide financial assistance to those in Singapore affected by COVID-19 through the Courage Fund.
In Malaysia, we launched a similar deferred premium payment programme for policyholders affected financially by COVID-19. We have also pledged a MYR1m Financial Assistance Programme to support affected customers, while in Brunei, we have pledged a B$50,000 support package for customers.
We encourage our customers to conduct policy services and transactions online through our digitally-enabled channels and online policyholders’ portal to minimise face-to-face interactions. Policyholders may log into our online E-Connect platform conveniently with their GreatID or SingPass to view policy information or perform selected transactions. For transactions involving policy payouts, they may also opt to receive payments from us conveniently via PayNow or direct crediting to their bank account.
Policyholders with Integrated Shield Plans can use our Health Connect call-in service for their medical insurance needs, such as pre-authorisation for bills and specialist appointments. Outpatient video medical consultations with Doctor Anywhere are also available at preferred rates, if they prefer to avoid visiting GP clinics during this period.
Carlos Vazquez, CEO
In view of the current circumstances, HSBC Life launched a COVID-19 Complimentary Special Benefits on 11 February 2020 to our life insurance customers and their immediate family in Singapore. These customers and their family members will receive additional benefits on diagnosis, hospitalisation and death-related to the COVID-19 at no additional cost. Existing HSBC Life customers as well as their immediate family members will be entitled to the complimentary special benefits starting from 7 February 2020, with cover guaranteed for a year. Similarly, new customers who purchase life insurance policies from 7 February to 30 June 2020 will also enjoy the same benefits for a year, starting from the date of issuance.
If an eligible client or family member is hospitalised in Singapore by a registered medical practitioner, a cash benefit of S$200/day will be paid for up to 45 days. If the patient unfortunately dies due to the virus, a lump sum payment of S$10,000 will be granted.
In addition, we have introduced an interest-free, premium defer payment scheme on 1 April 2020. This is to ensure that individuals’ long-term protection needs remain unaffected during this challenging time. Qualified policyholders will be able to defer their premium payments for up to 6 months, interest free, between 1 April and 30 September 2020.
To date, we have honoured and paid out all valid COVID-19 complimentary special benefit claims. Similarly, we have approved and processed all valid premium deferment requests.
We remain open for business and determined to support our customers’ needs as normal. In order to also do our part in further mitigating the outbreak of COVID-19 in Singapore, we have directed most of our people to work from home, which has been done with minimal disruption to our operations. Currently, less than 8% of our employees are in our office premises at any given day.
Dr. Khoo Kah Siang, CEO
Since February, we started to implement enhanced precautionary measures such as safe distancing, upholding good sanitation in all areas, implementing temperature and health screenings to safeguard our employees and customers safety and well-being.
At the same time, we started to look into tools and solutions that ensure steadfast digital contact with our customers. For instance, we recently introduced a non-face-to-face advisory sales process to allow our advisors to speak to customers via video chat and sign-off on plans, all at the comfort of their homes.
To safeguard the wellbeing of our employees and representatives, we have implemented a slew of enhanced precautionary measures aligned with government guidance. Since February, we have introduced split team work arrangements for all employees, where teams worked on a rotation basis between their homes and the workplace. On 3 April, all our corporate staff have been fully working from home.
Apart from practicing social distancing, all our staff and financial consultants have also done away with face-to-face meetings and are instead conducting virtual meetings and calls. We also have a secure digital process in-place that allows representatives to submit paperwork online, in addition to our non-face-to-face advisory sales process. All of these measures serve to minimise physical workplace interactions.
In support of our nation’s effort in dealing with the evolving COVID-19 situation, Manulife Singapore enhanced its protection coverage for all customers in mid-February via a S$1 million COVID-19 support fund, at no added cost for customers in Singapore. This protection coverage includes new diagnosis benefit and additional death benefits.
To help our customers further tide through this difficult period, we allowed a grace period extension for premium payment for up to six months in total. This allows our customers more time to make premium payments and still ensure that long-term protection remains unaffected during this time.
Additionally, we also committed to supporting those at the forefront of the fight by donating a S$100,000 to The Courage Fund. As the situation remains uncertain and fluid, we are keeping a watchful eye on the evolving situation to ensure that all our customers are supported in this time of difficulty.
Protecting the health and well-being of our employees, customers and communities has and will always be a key priority for us. We have a full suite of products from protection, savings, retirement and investment needs and across the different customer segments from mass market to ultra-high net worth. Assessing the groups that are most vulnerable to COVID-19, people with pre-existing conditions have appeared to be the most susceptible. This further underscores the importance of having sufficient critical illness and mortality coverage, especially when one is still enjoying good health.
Tan Ping Ping, head of corporate affairs
Prudential Singapore has implemented several measures at the workplace as part of our COVID-19 response.
Our employees are divided into two teams, with one team working in the office and the other team working from home. Members from both teams are not allowed to physically meet even after office hours. Team members in the office have been told to maintain a social distance of at least 1 metre. We are also conducting cleaning more frequently for all desks and common areas on a daily basis.
Our flexible working arrangements, implemented 3 years ago, mean that employees have the option of working from home. We are continuing this arrangement in conjunction with split team operations. This means that at any one time, our employees have the option of working from home.
Employees are also encouraged to hold meetings, training and internal events remotely via video- and/or tele-conferencing. If there is an absolute need for physical meetings, the number of attendees should be limited and duration shortened, with attendees seated at least 1-metre apart in meeting rooms.
Employees who are feeling unwell need to declare their status online. Those issued a five-day medical certificate need to make a daily declaration on their health status by noon. Employees will also need to notify HR if they have been issued with a Quarantine Order or Stay-Home Notice.
In addition, employees who have travelled overseas to any country will need to work from home for 14 days from the date of arrival in Singapore.
Employees who are living with household members who have returned from overseas travel from 14 March onwards will also have to work from home for 14 days, from the date of return of their household member.
We have Care Kits for all employees and Financial Consultants, comprising a thermometer, hand sanitiser and face masks. It also includes a health advisory on good hygiene practices, tips on proper hand washing, how to sanitise your hands and how to wear a mask. We have also encouraged our employees and agency to download the TraceTogether app, which facilitates the contact tracing process and enables contact tracers to inform users who are close contacts of COVID-19 cases more quickly.
Winnie Wong, CEO
Owing to the alarming figures on the newly contracted COVID-19 figures and following the government’s further strengthened policies, we have adopted precautionary measures such as a split team arrangement, flexible working, and social distancing.
We have also provided complimentary coronavirus disease protection to all Avo’s staff members. The coverage includes hospital cash of HK$500 per day (up to 30 days) and HK$50,000 death benefit from coronavirus, with a 45-day coverage period (including 14-day waiting period).
Earlier in February, we launched the Coronavirus Disease Protection, helping everyone to stay protected from any unforeseen circumstances associated with the outbreak. Coronavirus Disease Protection is offered with a premium at HK$500. The policy includes hospital cash of HK$500 per day (up to 30 days) and death benefit of HK$50,000 within the 3-month protection period.
Following the launch, eligible hospital staff and customers who have purchased Avo’s Cancer Protection or Annual Travel Protection were eligible to sign up for a limited-time free offer of Coronavirus Disease Protection with a 45-day coverage period (including 14-day waiting period). This offer was a gesture of our sincere gratitude towards Hong Kong’s healthcare professionals for their dedication and tireless effort during this time, as well as our existing consumers.
To address the uncertainties around travel bans and restrictions, our flexible Travel Protection allows policyholders to rearrange travel schedules. For those who are staying indoors, the eWallet Protection by Avo can protect online shoppers from identity theft and unauthorized transactions.
In spite of the situation, Avo plans to launch new insurance plans every two to three months in order to accommodate the ever-changing needs of consumers. We have been working closely with different partners to offer a variety of multifaceted insurance solutions that adapts to the daily needs of customers.
We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced people to reconsider their individual medical insurance needs. With healthcare being one of the greatest concerns, we aim to offer more health-related insurance protection options, such as gender-specific Cancer Protection. The pandemic has sped up the industry’s digital transformation and technological innovation. It is also a catalyst to further educate the public on the need of virtual insurance in the future.
Fred Ngan, CEO
Bowtie has implemented flexible working arrangements for more than 60 days since CNY to allow employees to work from home. Our office remains open to those who have a need to return but we encourage social distancing as best practice to ensure our employees operate in the safest environment possible.
Our core system is 100% cloud-based, hence we were able to stay fully functional and as productive as when we were in the office. Although customers will not be able to visit our customer service center in person, our customer services hotline, live chat and email remain available.
We have launched three initiatives to help our customers. The first was additional protection to our Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) product, where in addition to increasing hospital cash allowance, we introduced the feature of fully reimbursing the cost of lung/chest CT scans and outpatient X-Rays. These confirmatory diagnostic tests are not restricted to only cases related to the coronavirus outbreak. They also apply to anyone who requires these confirmatory diagnostic tests to exclude the possibility that they may be infected.
We also partnered with MIT Hong Kong Innovation node to manufacture DIY hand sanitizers and distributed them to our customers and underprivileged communities. Thirdly, we launched a hospital care plan where we offer free VHIS plans to hospital workers and their direct families.
This April, we reduced our certified medical insurance premiums after reviewing actual expenses and claim experience over the past year to thank our customers for their support and to live up to our value of providing “just fit” protection to customers with competitive pricing.
Bowtie is one of the very few insurers in the market that focuses on pure protection medical insurance products with no investment component, which means we are less prone to risks from market fluctuations and hence more capable of maintaining a stable revenue. Our online business model has proven particularly in this time of crisis that it can bring unparalleled convenience to our customers as much as it does to our business operation. In fact, we have witnessed a rapid rise in our blog traffic and insurance sales that have almost tripled in the first quarter of the year.
Looking ahead, Bowtie hopes to carry on with launching products or product enhancement that reflects our mission of bringing basic protection to Hong Kong. VHIS will continue to be our main offering, and we'll launch products that compliments this where customers can customise a pure protection medical insurance plan that is tailored to fit their actual needs.
James Garner, group chief capital markets officer
For our life insurance arm, it is affected in the short-term but will benefit from increase in insurance demands and awareness in the long-term. As agents are unable to provide sales and services face-to-face with customers which is crucial for selling higher margin protection policies, agent productivity, activity ratio and income may markedly decrease.
Our property & casualty insurance arm saw a mixed impact overall. In the short-term, new car sales slowdown and airway traffic decline weigh on new auto insurance, airline accident insurance, and transportation insurance. That said, as COVID-19 spurs demand for online auto service, the Ping An Auto Owner App, launched by Ping An P&C, has surpassed 100 million registered users, and has topped in China.
In 2013, Ping An launched its internal instant messaging tool, Happy Ping An App. This platform has been fully applied in more than 30 subsidiaries with more than 1 million employees. Ping An Life is trying all out to utilize technology to empower Life SAT, remote activity management and AI recruitment, training and KPI appraisal, which we believe will “turn risk into opportunity”, promote digitalization transformation of Ping An Life and strengthen its competitiveness.
We are providing online services to our P&C insurance clients like on the Ping An Auto Owner app, online insurance renewal, and AI-powered loss assessment and claim settlement. For our life insurance clients, we do provide online contract signing and online case claim settlements.
We optimized the existing product claim standard and process, expanded the insurance liability appropriately under the premise of controllable risks.
PA Life is affected in the short-term, but will benefit from increase in insurance demands and awareness in the long-term. For Ping An P&C, in the short-term, new car sales slowdown and airway traffic decline weigh on new auto insurance, airline accident insurance, and transportation insurance. We plan to use 2020 to accelerate the digitalization of its operations and optimize its management models through technology.
Zakri Khir, CEO
For general insurance, impact is certain in travel policies sold. We do anticipate a surge in claims, mostly travel and medical related. For our motor business, policyholders still need to renew their policies so we will not see an immediate impact to our balance sheets. This segment will also take a hit as manufactures and supply chains are impacted and new business will be slow. The government has allowed some sectors to operate following the extended MCO which includes certain segments of the automotive industry, but we will have to wait and see.
As for our life business, agents will find it difficult to do face-to-face business due to mobility constraints. The pandemic will trigger more concerns over health, presenting insurers an opportunity to boost healthcare policy sales and hopefully increase health insurance penetration amongst Malaysians.
We have made arrangements for as many of our staff to work from home, with about 94% of our staff already working from home into the second week of the MCO. To comply with requirements for restricted movement, all our branches were closed from 22 March. Only the Head Office is open while our Allianz Care Solutions, Contact Centre and colleagues in critical functions continue to provide services to customers.
For the remaining staff who are providing essential services and need to report to the office, measures have been taken to facilitate their work. A full sanitization of our office premises was carried out and this will continue until the MCO is lifted. In addition, meal arrangements via the dahmakan app and Grab rides to and from the office have been arranged.
It is possible for our life agents to digitally and instantly add or remove riders, adjust premiums and manage customer policies without the need to be online, through our Imagine app on an agent’s iPad. This has significantly increased our turnaround time from days to minutes.
Insurance policies in Malaysia generally do not cover pandemics. With COVID-19, Allianz Malaysia did not waive this clause but introduced some initiatives to provide some form of relief to our customers. There are no immediate plans to enhance our products to include pandemic cover.
Our BCP does include a plan that covers the wider tasks for the response team in the event of pandemics, safety and welfare of staff and certain resources and business processes that should be made available in order to continue business operation at an acceptable level. We have been using this to guide us in our response in dealing with COVID-19 till now. We will need to see what other measures we can adopt to include future health emergencies and other possible crises for better preparedness and optimum operational effectiveness.
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