KUALA LUMPUR: Life insurer AIA Bhd is looking to have an additional 4,500 to 5,000 agents, popularly known as life planners, by year-end.
“We are recruiting new life planners, and one thing we do focus on is bringing on more full-time life planners. We are looking at very specific recruitment to make sure we bring in people that will do well and build a career in insurance,” said “newly-minted” chief executive officer Anusha Thavarajah.
AIA has a multi-channel distribution network, which is supported mainly by its current 14,000 life planners as well as its banking partners.
It has several new products lined up for the next 12 months, catering to consumers’ evolving needs and demands.
“One big thing coming up is AIA Vitality, which we hope to launch by the middle of next year,” said Anusha.
AIA Vitality is a health and insurance programme that partners with customers to help them live healthier lives.
According to AIA Singapore, AIA Vitality is a science-backed wellness programme that works with customers to improve their health. The programme provides added benefits such as cash savings and other rewards to motivate customers to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The company also started upgrading its existing 42 branches in Malaysia in August, and is currently working on branches in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. There would be five new branches in Seremban, Malacca, Batu Pahat and Johor, she said.
“We are not increasing, but shutting down some of the old branches and replacing them with newer branches. Basically we are upgrading our services,” she said. AIA is spending about RM100mil to upgrade and refresh its branches over the next two years.
AIA plans to extend that to the northern states and Sabah and Sarawak next year and is currently looking for the right locations.
Meanwhile, Anusha said the company did not make any changes to its investments due to the uncertain economic environment and weakening ringgit. The company has more than RM40bil in assets under management (AUM).
“Our AUM is linked to long-term liability. The asset duration is matched to the liability duration, so we ensure we earn stable return in the long run. Our investment direction does not change significantly year on year,” she said.
If any tweaks are made to its “very diversed” investments, it would be minute, she added.
“Any changes would be very minute because the broad direction does not change seeing as at the end of the day our obligations are long-term obligations, so there is no need to react to short-term movements in markets,” she said.
Anusha was appointed CEO on June 11. She takes over from Bill Lisle, who has been appointed regional chief executive overseeing Malaysia, South Korea, Cambodia, India and Sri Lanka markets.
