It was revealed in a recent report that Thailand’s Life Insurance sector amounted to THB 633.4 billion in total premiums accumulated for 2023. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of this sector grew manyfold due to the rising popularity of health riders and flexible coverage options. Some reports also suggest that in 2023, there has been a 4.3 percent rise in Gross Written Premiums (GWP) for non-linked insurance products.
In 2024, the sector is expected to grow by 3.7 percent and the GWP is projected to reach approximately THB660.4 billion. With increasing average life expectancy, this sector is expected to represent 60.3 percent of the GWP. Furthermore, by 2028, the market size of Thailand’s life insurance sector is expected to reach around USD 23 billion at a CAGR of 4.4 percent from 2023 to 2028. With the premiums predicted to grow 20-40 percent annually, the life insurance penetration rate is also expected to increase to 5.3 percent in 2025. The rising awareness among the growing Thai middle-class population is the key driver behind the growth of this sector.
With a highly competitive and uncertain market in a challenging economy, insurers are diversifying their product offerings and heavily investing in innovative digital platforms to improve customer experience and trust. Most of the innovative strategies are focused towards improving customer service and claims processes. This has also attracted several banks, which helps them expand their customer network. Considering this rising trend, World Business Outlook opened the nominations for Most Innovative Insurance Customer Center, Thailand 2024.
Innovation Ensures Growth
The main criteria for the nominees of Most Innovative Insurance Customer Center in Thailand were their demonstration of advancement and investment in various service models for their customers and employees. World Business Outlook took note of the several unique customer engagement and retention strategies. The Jury has taken special note of the user-friendly experience that enables efficient claim processing. It has been observed that several life insurance companies in Asia are joining the trend of including artificial intelligence, data analytics and intuitive digital platforms to enhance customer interactions. The popularity of these trends is widely spread across Thailand. Lastly, the winner of the above title should offer a wide range of insurance products that cater to diverse customer needs.
Out of several nominations, World Business Outlook came across a Life Insurance company that has earned a reputation for being innovative and intuitive towards its clients. Hence, the title was awarded to FWD Life Insurance Company Limited.
Partner in Life, Finance Your Goals
FWD Group is a pan-Asian life insurance business entity with more than 13 million customers and over 7,400 employees across 10 markets. Its current business portfolio comprises of life and health insurance, employee benefits and Shariah and family takaful products. The Group currently holds over 29 bancassurance partnerships.
FWD Group began their life insurance business with the acquisition of ING in Hong Kong and Macau in 2013. They began to expand their operations with the acquisition of MetLife Limited and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of Hong Kong Limited in 2020. In 2019, FWD Group acquired the life insurance entity of The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited (SCB) in Thailand. This is an exclusive long-term distribution partnership with the largest bank in Thailand by market capitalisation. Today, FWD Life Insurance Company Limited is one of the largest life insurance companies and the largest bancassurer in Thailand based on its overall business sales. The Company operates under a multi-channel distribution model in Thailand, which includes bancassurance, agency, brokerage, and several partnerships through digital commerce channels. FWD Life Insurance Company Limited was ranked as the leading insurer in three out of four channels by new business sales in 2023.
After Hong Kong, FWD Life Insurance has its second largest distribution channel in Thailand, with approximately 14,800 agents in Thailand. Of these, 780 are MDRT qualifiers and Elite agents as of 31 December 2023. To further enhance the customer experience and meet their evolving needs, FWD has closely collaborated with SCB to build data analytics models, including ‘Propensity to Buy’ and ‘Next Best Offer’. FWD has attained an advanced level of expertise in digital data analytics where they can analyse a customer’s life stage, coverage gap, persona and purchase behaviour to predict what is the next best appropriate product for the customers. It even prompts customised recommendations that are tailored to cover the customer’s specific protection needs. Through a solid agency channel, FWD Life Insurance Company Limited has increased the number of riders in Thailand. The riders are insurance policy provisions that add benefits to amend the terms of a base insurance policy to provide additional options and coverage. This has also helped the company become the largest life insurer in digital sales in Thailand on a new business sales basis. FWD has launched its eCommerce platform to operate on a D2C basis to offer products such as life insurance, personal accident and health products.
Future Focus in Thailand
With a strong expansion strategy across all key channels in Thailand, FWD Group has set up a strong base on its growing agency members and bancassurance. Furthermore, FWD Life Insurance Company Limited will continue to invest in its digital customer engagement and servicing ecosystems to enhance operational efficiency, eliminate manual processes, support sales and strengthen its multi-channel distribution capability. FWD Life Insurance also plans to tap into the SCB customer base to increase its bancassurance sales leadership in Thailand. In the coming years, we are going to witness increased recruitment, campaigns and training of its agencies that would lead to improved Value for New Business (VNB) margins at FWD Life Insurance Company Limited.
The reputation of FWD Life Insurance as an innovative customer service company will further increase with the upcoming launch of new customer-facing products and platforms based on AI data analytics and interconnected technology backbone.
