Embracing Change Further success built on solid platform by Carmen To Adversities and uncertainties drive home importance of having a strong fallback position In today's world of insurance, challenge comes from many directions. Key players try hard to enhance corporate image, create more sales channels, redefine business directions and build up a vast network for expansion. AXA China Region Limited (Hong Kong) is a case in point. The company comes under AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, a member of the global AXA Group, which is a worldwide leader in financial protection and wealth management. Under a different name the company began operations in Hong Kong in 1986 and was acquired by AXA Group in 1999. It now serves over one million people in Hong Kong and Macau. Working through about 300 distributing agents, it has become the third largest player in the market in terms of new life business with a share of around 11.6 per cent. John Cai, CEO, AXA China Region Insurance Company Limited, says, "In the past four years, we've witnessed strong double digit growth a year because of the increasing demands of consumers plus changes in our society such as the increased awareness of medical care after the SARS outbreak. People now understand that they must take care of themselves and their families. Also they now worry about what will happen when they retire. Married couples are thinking more about the educational needs of their children, plus they must also satisfy traditional demands like supporting retired parents." However, he points out, AXA's corporate vision and strategy will remain unchanged in the coming years since it already provides total solutions in financial protection and wealth management. Global perspectives Mr Cai believes it is always important to make use of a global platform and localise it to meet the needs of the local market since Hong Kong is still less developed in such areas as wealth management and medical insurance compared with the US and the UK. "In 2005, we employed the multi-manager concept which proved to be a great success in managing retirement funds on a less risky and long-term base returning a consistent performance. This won us the MPF Master Trust of the Year 2006 award," he says. "Another concept 'Dimension' — a hybrid product which provides guaranteed cash value with investment in unit-linked products, won our Shanghai branch a Best Product Award." To adapt to change and stay ahead in the market, AXA makes use of ongoing customer surveys to listen to the market and detect the latest developments. Mr Cai points out that pitfalls always lie ahead for the unwary. It takes professionals to analyse and assess all the data available since there are so many choices and what he terms "information without education" can mislead customers, causing them to reach wrong conclusions and make wrong decisions. "As a result, it is crucial for us to monitor the market and enhance our service quality, in particular, claim process delivering on our promise to our customers, especially when they encounter serious financial difficulties resulting from death or sickness in the family. This ensures our customers can have peace of mind at a critical stage in their lives. This is no small undertaking since we have 50 million customers around the world," Mr Cai says. Better tomorrow The company designs ongoing strategic plans covering different time phases such as the "HK8" for 2004 to 2008. This puts emphasis on AXA's leading position in the industry. "Beyond 2008, we aim to be more than a leader in such areas," says Mr Cai. "Our ambition for 2012 is to be the preferred choice for customers, employees and distributors in Hong Kong. We currently earn our profits through six channels and in the coming years will make further efforts to maximise their capabilities. Also on our shopping list will be product innovation, enhancement in service quality and non-organic growth by means of acquisitions." Mr Cai stresses the importance of strengthening communications both internally and externally by building a stronger network. AXA uses a "think tank" to involve all staff. He also advocates constant updates on staff performance. A suggestion box concept is employed to collect feedback for more efficient two-way communication. Inter-departmental communication is enhanced on a monthly basis to cull still more imaginative and positive ideas. Meanwhile, for Mr Cai himself the challenges he has personally responded to include enhancing leadership skills to retain key staff, and managing channels of communication better to minimise conflicts and increase the benefits of synergy. Then and now Before Started operations in 1986 under the company name National Mutual Asia A sole-distribution, single-product operation Extended to Macau in 1990 After Renamed as AXA China Region Insurance Company Limited in 1999 Multi-distribution channels include agency, AXA adviser, financial planner, brokers, institution sales and bancassurance services Diverse range of products and services includes insurance, retirement, savings and investments Over one million customers in Hong Kong and Macau Taken from Career Times 2 March 2007 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]