Building for the future and searching for growth opportunities in challenging times

But there are some things we can control … and some things we cannot. Our business focused on those things it can control with an eye on building for the future and delivering for the customer. The Group’s Impact24 strategy has been embraced across the Asia region by both employees and partners, and in this first year of execution, multiple new projects and pilot programmes have been put in play that reflect Impact24 priorities to grow the core and develop new engines of growth. Among these, Ageas Federal Life Insurance in India became the first operating company in the Group to benefit from a 2022 collaboration between Ageas and eBaoTech, a global digital solutions provider for the insurance industry, which has allowed AFLIC to create a Platform as a Service (PaaS) technology base on which a new digital sales B2B2C distribution channel has been built. The learnings from this pilot programme will be embraced and exported over time to other markets across the region. 

2022 was also a year in which Ageas sought opportunities to diversify and expand its distribution capabilities in Asia. While it takes time for new distribution initiatives to have an impact, we are making substantial progress in expanding the agency channel. In 2022, as part of a plan to diversify distribution channels in the Philippines beyond just Banca, a new agency channel was launched which has already opened its doors for sales. By the end of 2023, the plan is to have some 1,200 agents on the ground in a market where agents are an important community in insurance. Following on from the launch of the agency channel in Vietnam two years ago, and the more recent launch of agency in the Philippines, plans have been put in place to focus on significant improvements in the agency channel in India next year. 

For those agents we already work with, the focus is on increasing the percentage of High Performing Agents which in turn feeds into our recruitment strategy and drives long term growth and value creation. To help with this we are leveraging an agreement with the Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT) who in the coming year will work across multiple entities in Asia to provide high level training.

In the search for new distribution channels, Etiqa in Singapore (subsidiary of MAHB in Malaysia) has entered in an exciting new strategic partnership with Singtel, which enables the launch of life insurance products digitally and via inhouse advisory teams to the Singtel customer base in Singapore. As Asia’s leading communications technology group and the largest digital telecommunications company in Singapore, SingTel covers almost half the local market shares in telecommunications and this agreement has enormous potential. In hat is an exclusive deal, Etiqa becomes the life insurance product provider to customers of Singtel.

Banca remains a critical distribution channel in the region and one in which Ageas continues to invest. Strong banca initiatives are underway in the Philippines and Malaysia to further improve productivity. In addition, focus on customer expectations and satisfaction led the Asian JVs to work alongside the newly created centre of excellence in the UK, a lot of groundwork has been done to map customer journeys. Learnings from the UK are now being applied across the Asia region. 

In ESG, all operating companies have programmes underway to deliver against the Group’s ESG ambitions spanning local product development, fund management initiatives, important societal programmes, and employee development programmes. In Malaysia, the approach to ESG is highly advanced across multiple areas of engagement. The Drive Less Save More product attracted more than 132,000 new motor policies in 2022 whilst encouraging good behaviours; a timely response to covid lockdowns, climate and environmental challenges. Across the region we are launching ESG funds in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. And as well, clean water and sanitisation programmes, good health and wellbeing initiatives, electric charger installations, rainwater harvesting systems all feature strongly. Our focus on employee engagement has also paid dividends with high NPS scores demonstrating that we are considered a Great place to Grow. In the area of inclusion there has been tangible progress. In Malaysia Etiqa launched a range of products targeted to those less advantaged in society and those living with disabilities including affordable Microfinance. 

In leveraging our core business, the decision to invest in a majority stake in Ageas Federal Life in India is a signal of intent to grow. The demographics of India and the economic momentum all point to a robust growth story in India and one we are excited about. The energy, the education levels, the enthusiasm of the workforce indicates future growth in this high potential market. 

So, while 2022 was a challenging year in so many ways, it is also one in which the region made good progress in execution against the Group’s Impact24 strategy: growing the core business, developing new engines of growth through new types of partnership, expanding and diversifying distribution channels, engaging employees, exploring ways to better interact with customers, and rolling out ESG initiatives that put sustainability at the heart of the business.