General director of Shinhan Life Vietnam: Challenges offer pause for quality improvement

Bae Seung Jun, general director of Shinhan Life Vietnam

What are the products and services that the company is focused on developing?

Shinhan Life Vietnam is a new life insurance company in the industry, and we are working hard to develop new products that meet the needs of our customers. We are not only focus on creating specialised products for various channels with a focus on protection, but also developing online products that make it easy and convenient for anyone to sign up for life insurance.

We are also continuously developing applications for online payment and insurance policy information management, allowing customers, agents, and employees to conveniently access and utilise our insurance services.

In the face of a volatile market, what solutions have businesses implemented to overcome challenges and achieve upbeat results?

Since the first half of 2024, life insurers have focused on digital transformation investment to increase information transparency, simplify insurance application process, shorten the insurance claim procedure, and form a culture of complete sales.

They have also simplified insurance contracts’ terms and conditions, as well as developed more products with deep focus on protecting customers.

I believe that current difficulties in the insurance industry serve as a trigger helping to restore customers’ trust in insurance. Each company is reorganising internal regulations and systems and making efforts to move from quantitative growth to qualitative growth.

Shinhan Life entered the Vietnamese insurance market during the period of transformation, so from the very beginning, we have focused on quality with customer benefits at the core of our business strategy. For the past three years, Shinhan Life Vietnam has been pursuing quality-centric growth by continuously investing in organisations, systems, and training.

What are Shinhan Life Vietnam’s measures in terms of monitoring the Financial Consultant (FC) team to avoid risks, and ensure customer benefits?

Shinhan Life Vietnam's FC channel was just launched in February of this year, and has been identified as one of the key channels to drive the company's growth. Since the day of its launch, we have made it clear that Shinhan Life Vietnam will prioritise quality, with the goal of recruiting and training a professional and well-grounded team.

To ensure the quality of consultations and protect customer benefits, we conduct internal control and sales compliance checks periodically for all sales channels.

In addition, we systematically implement the introduction, training, and performance analysis of agent organisations to improve service quality. Moving forward, we plan to strengthen comprehensive sales training in the future, so that a sound sales culture can be established.

Shinhan Life Vietnam's FC channel was just launched in February 2024

How do insurance firms raise public awareness about the role and effects of insurance?

I’ve noticed that in recent years, insurance companies, along with the support of Insurance Association of Vietnam, have launched several communication campaigns highlighting life insurance, its role, and key considerations when entering insurance contracts. Additionally, each company has its own communication strategy to raise public awareness on life insurance-related topics.

Vietnam is still a young market for life insurance, so the public understanding of insurance is still limited. I believe that to spread the true value of insurance, all insurance companies should work together. We need to communicate the significance of insurance products that can help reduce health-related risks for families and protect both individuals and families from disasters and illnesses through various media channels, activities, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and more.

Notably, the devastation caused by the recent Typhoon Yagi, with the estimated total number of claims for losses have reached hundreds of millions US dollars, serves as clear evidence of the crucial protective role of insurance in facing unpredictable risks.

At Shinhan Life Vietnam, we are promoting the value of insurance through initiatives such as offering free insurance policies, donating to children with leukaemia, and sponsoring youth education funds.

Over the past three years, Shinhan Life has provided $25,000 in financial aid, supporting 45 children battling leukaemia

What are the company’s development goals and strategies?

Shinhan Life Vietnam operates through face-to-face, bancassurance, and CA channels. Looking ahead, we plan to expand our products, systems, and organisational infrastructure to better suit each channel. We will also improve our operational infrastructure to support efficient sales and ensure the company’s stable growth.

In addition, we plan to actively carry out corporate social responsibility activities that contribute to the development of our neighbours in need and society, as well as group volunteer activities.

I think the current challenges in the industry offer a pause for qualitative improvement. We expect to enter a full-fledged recovery period starting next year, and will focus on efficient sales expansion.

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