This year, the third year since its establishment, with the full support of First Financial Holding Co Ltd, First-Aviva is very ambitious with regards to channels, goods and investment.
This year, the third year since its establishment, with the full support of First Financial Holding Co Ltd, First-Aviva is very ambitious with regards to channels, goods and investment. The aim being to increase sales by expanding channels and products and also improve investment results by integrating First Financial Holding Co Ltd resources.
Chien Ming-ren, chairman of First-Aviva and president of First Financial Holding Co Ltd said that First Financial Holding Co Ltd is a financial holding company that was built on the foundation of First Commercial Bank. The bank has a good reputation and its management has won wide approval.
His responsibility is to guide and assist the group’s subsidiaries to effectively integrate the bank’s resources and nurture more “stars of tomorrow” for First Financial Holding Co Ltd. Taking First-Aviva as a case in point, he said First-Aviva and First Commercial Bank have established stable and close business relations and the two companies are coming closer in terms of management and product strategy consensus all the time.
He believes that First-Aviva has good development potential and emphasised that First Financial Holding Co Ltd will integrate group resources to assist First-Aviva to grow quickly and make the First Financial Holding Group stronger overall.
First-Aviva’s managing director Lin Yuan-hui then said 2009 was a tough year for the insurance industry, however, with the support of First Financial Holding Co Ltd and the cooperation of First Commercial Bank, while First-Aviva’s new policy revenue was down on 2008, the main reason for this was that the company stopped selling structured notes and short-term endowment insurance, products that did not have a positive effect on its financial structure.
However, the success of the company’s product strategy transformation is illustrated by the fact that insurance types that will help the company’s operations, including guaranteed products, mortgage life insurance and investment products, all showed large increases in sales. Therefore this year the same direction will be maintained, selling products that will bring benefit to maximise the value created for shareholders and, through the implementation of three main strategies - channels, product and investment – achieving the target for the year of NT$7 billion in new contract premium income.
Three main strategies
- Channels and service: First Commercial Bank is a main channel that will continue to strengthen this year. The correct insurance products and marketing methods will be spread to all the bank’s island-wide branches through training and education and arranging activities.
Telephone marketing and agent/broker channels will also be main channels that will receive an injection of resources this year. The telephone marketing team will, it is estimated, be enlarged to 60-100 people. As for the broker/agent channel, the target this year is to cooperate with 10 like-minded quality brokers/agents, increasing the density and visibility of First-Aviva in this channel.
In addition, to strengthen service to channel policy holders, First-Aviva also plans to launch the “Claims green channel”, shortening the claims process for simple claims to reduce waiting time for policy holders. - Product development: The expectations of government agencies and overall sales trends both indicate that in the future banks will be used not only for the sale of money management products and that traditional guaranteed products will gradually find a place.
Consequently, after beginning to develop guaranteed products last year, First-Aviva will begin offering fixed time fixed amount investment products and develop discretionary account. These three types of product will be the three main products, satisfying the requirements of different products and being the subject of cooperation with other First Financial Holding group subsidiaries, bringing the development of First-Aviva and First Financial Holding group closer together. - Finance and investment: Because of the high level of importance attached to financial structure by First-Aviva’s two main shareholders - First Financial Holding Co Ltd and the Aviva group – since First-Aviva was established finances and investment planning have been cautious.
Mr Lin said that, this year, on the principle of stable finances, the investment strategy will be adjusted to put the emphasis on diverse asset allocation, using the resources of the First Financial Holding Group and the international group to increase investment return rate. Therefore, the proportion of fixed income investment will be gradually lowered and that of overseas investment, and investment in real estate and the stock market in Taiwan increased. At present the managing government agency has approved the raising of the limit on First-Aviva’s overseas investment to 25% which will greatly increase the flexibility of its capital utilisation.
Four main products
- Investment products: Lin Yuan-hui believes that, although investment policies will be subject to tax this year, the fact that the threshold is high means most customers don’t need to be worried about this. Adding to this the signs of improvement in the economic situation, he thinks that the return of investment policies to the market has good potential.
He also believes that being cautious and guaranteeing principal will be the approaches that still hold sway this year, therefore, fixed term and fixed amount investment products with attached stop-loss or stop-gain mechanisms and investment policies with an attached guarantee mechanism will be developed by the company. Both will make customer assets more stable and increase their confidence in, and willingness to accept, investment policies. - Foreign exchange policy: Targeting customers at the top of the pyramid who attach importance to financial planning and asset management, First-Aviva will introduce foreign currency interest sensitive and endowment insurance policies. Taiwan will have low interest rates for the long-term and NT$ policy interests rates are 1-2%, whereas foreign exchange rates can be 3-4%.
The difference in premiums between the two types has increased the market’s willingness to accept foreign exchange policies greatly, even though foreign exchange policies have exchange rate difference risks. In the future, the financial sector’s opening will continue, giving people more and more opportunity to use US$ or other foreign currencies and the US$ will also be stronger than the NT$, so foreign exchange polices will still have market potential. - Guaranteed products: Guaranteed products including accident insurance and mortgage life insurance were introduced last year. This year, principal guaranteed health insurance, principal guaranteed cancer insurance, travel insurance and lifetime life insurance products will be added, raising the level of bank channel customer basic guarantees.
- Enterprise products: In addition to serving individual customers, this year First-Aviva has begun offering group insurance, occupational individual policies, credit guarantee and other products to meet the requirements of enterprises, joining product special features and the bank channel more closely together and increasing the scope of service given to customers.
-ends-
Media contact person:
Johnson Lu (Lu Hong-yi,) Aviva
Telephone: (02) 8758 1169
E-mail: johnson_lu@first-aviva.com.tw
Anna Chang (Chang Hui-fang,) Aviva
Telephone: (02) 8758-1067
E-mail: anna_chang@first-aviva.com.tw
Notes to editors:
About First-Aviva Life Insurance Co Ltd
- First-Aviva is an insurance company jointly established by First Financial Holding Co Ltd and the Aviva group.
- First-Aviva’s initial paid-in capital was NT$2.25 billion. First Financial Holding Co., Ltd. holds a 51% share and the Aviva group 49%.
- First-Aviva has signed an exclusive bank insurance agreement with First Financial Holding Co Ltd’s flagship subsidiary First Commercial Bank, offering life insurance, retirement planning and other insurance products through First Commercial Bank’s 190 branches in Taiwan, giving customers innovative products and services.
About the Aviva group
- The Aviva group is the fifth largest insurance group in the world (calculated according to total global premiums on 31 December 2008). It is the top provider of life insurance and retirement protection products in Europe and also has an important position in other markets.
- The Aviva group’s main areas of business are long-term savings planning (including life insurance protection, savings planning and pension planning), fund management and property insurance. As of 31 December 2008, total sales were £51.4 billion and more than £381.1 billion worth of assets were under its management.
- Aviva’s global media centre www.aviva.com/media has image, company and product information and press release databanks.
- In Asia, Aviva promotes its products and services through various marketing channels (including its own sales team, brokers and bank insurance). It has branches in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea.
About First Financial Holding Co Ltd and First Commercial Bank
First Financial Holding Co Ltd was established by stock right exchange with First Commercial Bank as the subject on 2 January 2003.
As of the end of 2008, First Financial Holding Co Ltd (Taiwan Stock Exchange stock code 2892) had total assets worth over NT$ 1.6 trillion, making it the seventh largest financial group in Taiwan, providing comprehensive financial services to more than five million individuals and enterprises.
First Commercial Bank was established in 1899 and is the main source of the group’s profits.
First Commercial Bank has a leading position in the deposit and loans business, home loans, SME loans and fund sales markets etc. It has 190 service outlets in Taiwan (including branches and offices) providing services to customers.