In this episode, Michael Waitze talks to Bob Wouters, the country manager of FWD’s general insurance practice in Thailand. Bob shares a bit of FWD’s digital strategy. The Company has recently started to roll out non-life insurance capabilities across all its markets. FWD had already made a seed investment in Thai non-life aggregator platform Frank.co.th but increased the share to 100% in summer 2019. Their latest addition to the group is the acquisition of AM Trust Mobile Solutions, which provides device protection for smartphone holders and is now part of the group’s new brand bolttech.
FWD has always prioritized digital and they are witnessing a sharp increase in online sales due to the global corona pandemic that acts as a catalyst. Within five weeks over 2 million COVID-19 protection plans have been sold in Thailand and most policies were sold online. Bob suggests that this trend will remain post-COVID and that insurers will focus more on digital distribution as well as on meaningful, situational coverages that are launched instantaneously. The pandemic has shown that it is possible for insurers with digital capabilities to react agile and launch new products within days.
Bob also shares FWD’s measures in response to COVID-19 to ensure the safety of their 2000+ employees. Staff who are able to do their tasks remotely are working from home. Communication can be a challenge here and Bob explains how employees ensure they stay connected. For those who have to come into the office, the Company has split the teams into different groups to minimize the number of people in the same room. Bob notes that an important ingredient in the response to the global pandemic is flexibility.
Find the episode with Prem, the founder of Frank.co.th here.
Other companies mentioned SCB Life
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