AIA Hong Kong, The Real Life Company, responds to genuine, practical life concerns

As the preeminent life insurer in the Asia-Pacific, AIA Hong Kong has dedicated itself to helping its customers plan their future through the highs and lows of their lives. For more than 80 years, AIA Hong Kong has been on a journey with its customers over generations, satisfying their evolving insurance and financial needs.

“Our new brand positioning, The Real Life Company, is also about our history. We have been in Hong Kong for over 80 years and we have assisted a lot of customers with their wealth and financial planning needs,’’ says Bonnie Tse, General Manager, Marketing and Business Strategy for AIA Hong Kong and Macau. “We are well positioned to know what they need to help them plan their future.’’

AIA Hong Kong and Macau are members of the AIA Group Limited. The AIA Group Limited established operations in Hong Kong in 1931. It has the largest team of financial planners –10,000 – in Hong Kong and Macau.

The new brand positioning, The Real Life Company, introduced in July 2013, is the result of extensive research across nine markets, involving more than 100 focus groups. It is a platform to engage existing and new customers who are seeking a practical life insurer.

Tse says the brand positioning provides guidance for the company’s business planning, product design, operations, frontline staff, internal training and even service standards. “It is a core value we all share,’’ Tse emphasizes.

She explains that this marketing transformation began early last year at the leading insurer. “AIA Hong Kong is customer centric. We provide the right solutions to customers based on their needs.’’

She cites a marketing maxim that says ‘make what you can sell and sell what you can make’, to further underline the customer focus, adding that AIA Hong Kong is about making and selling what the customer needs. “This is customer-centricity.’’

To engage customers on social media, the company launched a Facebook fans page and floated four campaigns that has already drawn 31,000 fans. “I am confident we will reach greater numbers,’’ Tse predicts. The Facebook approach also included practical tips such as healthy diets, nutrition, sport and fitness ideas for smart and healthy living. “AIA is keen to promote a healthy lifestyle,’’ Tse says.

She points out that it is only through understanding the real needs of customers that AIA Hong Kong can be a real life partner and help plan their lives.

“We did a lot of analysis, about the customer base and the population. We segment our customers and one of the segments we identified is young adults. We define young as those between 18 years and 34 years old. Young adults account for 44% of the labour force in Hong Kong. They have a lot of financial commitments.’’

To engage young adults, who are yield focused, AIA Hong Kong created a new experience, including sponsoring K-POP events promoted through social media, including a mini-site. “We grew the number of fans from 7,000-8,000 to over 10,000 now,’’ Tse reveals.

She says that based on the findings related to young adults, AIA Hong Kong understood that they desire flexibility and affordability. Because they have different financial commitments, flexibility allows them to adapt and switch with ease.

One product that provides the flexibility for young adult customers is "Cheerful Life", a whole life investment-linked assurance scheme that provides life coverage and investment to fulfil the needs of individuals at various stages of their lives. Tse describes "Cheerful Life" as “a good example of customer-centricity’’.

Among other things, the product allows customers to determine the coverage they require by specifying the face amount, subject to a minimum of US$50,000, or HK$375,000. It offers the customer the option to contribute additional premium for investment on a lump sum basis, or regular basis. It is a flexible plan that, like a Lego brick, allows the customer to add to the assurance scheme depending on individual protection or investment needs, Tse elaborates. “These initiatives show how we put ourselves in the shoes of our clients and make sure they know it is important for them to plan ahead,’’ Tse says. The "Cheerful Life" plan was promoted on a mini-site www.goAIA.com.hk

Besides, “Executive Care Pro 2” and “Multiple Care Pro 2” offer customers much more comprehensive coverage. Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, where stenosis of at least 50% is detected in one coronary artery as opposed to two previously, is now a compensated condition. The enhancement also features an increase in the advance payment from 10% to 20% of the critical illness sum assured, subject to a maximum of US$30,000 per life, instead of US$12,500.

Tse says that providing a series of comprehensive insurance product makes life easier for customers.

As for upgrading products, Tse explains that the product life cycle is open-ended and as life changes and the market evolves, AIA Hong Kong needs to upgrade and strengthen the coverage offered to bridge the critical illness protection gap.

Based on a 2012 in-house survey of those who own insurance, medical and critical illness insurance were found to be among the top three plans that people have bought, or plan to buy in the next 12 months.

“We understand that customers are really concerned abut medical expenses,’’ Tse says. Medical costs in Hong Kong are continuing to rise. These products and initiatives demonstrate that AIA Hong Kong cares about the well-being of Hong Kong’s people, Tse says. She cites the AIA Hong Kong Healthy Living Index survey to underline that more needs to be done to educate Hong Kong people about their health-related concerns. The multi-market survey found that Hong Kong scored 58 out of a possible 100 points, placing the city of among the third lowest of 15 Asia-Pacific markets. It found internet addiction, being overweight, and sleep deprivation, as issues that endanger health of Hong Kong residents. Tse remarks that the findings were an eye-opener.

A fairly high proportion of adults, or 64%, in the city admit being addicted to online activities – significantly higher than the regional average of 56%.

A study in June 2013 also found that more than 50% of Hong Kong people are under protected in medical cover, Tse points out. AIA Hong Kong, Tse notes, invests “a lot of resources to do research to understand what customers need’’.

While engaging its customers through a multitude of channels, AIA Hong Kong continues to do its part for the community through various undertakings including fund-raising for non-profits, scholarships for students, and educational initiatives.

AIA Hong Kong has been awarded the Caring Company logo for over 10 years. The AIA Foundation, established in 1995, maintains a strong focus on education and its flagship project is the Young Leaders Development Programme. More than 400 university students in Hong Kong have benefited. Scholarships granted amount to HK$5.3 million since 1995.

AIA Hong Kong has supported the international non-profit Medecins Sans Frontieres Orienteering Competition for 12 consecutive years and has been rewarded for being the top fund-raiser, and one of the most supportive organizations in 2013.

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FAST FACTS

• 4th largest listed life insurer by market capitalisation in the world (Source: Bloomberg, 20 September 2013)

• History of over 90 years in Asia Pacific

• 100% ownership in 15 out of 17 geographical markets (including operations in the Philippines in which percentage holding is 99.78%) • Serving the holders of more than 27 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes

• Embedded value of US$32.2 billion as of May 2013

• Total assets of US$147 billion as of May 2013