Prudential pioneering online life insurance services

Life insurance companies have been utilising information technology in their customer services to simplify the complicated negotiation procedure and paperwork.

Currently, the majority of life insurance companies offer online insurance consultancy services and contract negotiation instead of the traditional face-to-face method. This way customer profiles can also be directly sent to insurance agencies’ computer systems for double-checking.

For instance, Chubb Life’s eSMART programme allows the company to provide consultancy iPad or smartphone devices, while at the same time forwarding the information to the company online. The office of evaluation and contract release will also be able customise the contract towards the clients’ needs online. Upon reaching an agreement for a contract, a digital, printable version will be emailed to the clients for reviewing. An official physical copy of the contract will be mailed to the clients soon after for signing purposes.

Meanwhile, Manulife, AIA, and Dai-ichi Life have also developed software allowing clients to connect and review their contracts online.

Both veteran and newly founded insurance companies in Vietnam have determined that information technology be one of their primary focuses. “Venturing into the Vietnamese market is a significant milestone for the ambitious development strategy of FWD in Southeast Asia. To move along with their developmental strategy, FWD made significant investments into developing information technology, improving customer experience, as well as simplifying the communication process between the company and clients,” said a representative of FWD.

The effort that life insurance companies have put into these online applications allows an easier and more effective approach for consumers shopping for life insurance. However, “paperless” procedures are only the beginning of a new online life insurance model.

With the newly-implemented e-commerce system for various products, Prudential Vietnam is the first company to utilise online insurance transactions in the life industry insurance segment.

With the implementation of this new technology, the company hopes to shorten transaction times as they aim to increase their market share by 3 per cent by 2017.

The new online insurance model is still only in the testing phase, so it is a little early to celebrate complete success. However, after the first steps were made by Prudential Vietnam, it is possible that many more companies will look to follow in suit and create a new and exciting shopping experience for customers.

According to the development strategy for the Vietnamese insurance industry from 2011 to 2020, the application of information technology is a significant step to develop the insurance market. Industrial leaders hope that implementing new technological solutions will strengthen the market and help reach the 3-4 per cent GDP mark by 2020.

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