Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance Co (安聯人壽) plans to enlarge its sales staff by 20 percent in the next two years to meet growing client demand that saw sales of its protection-type policies more than double in the first eight months of the year, company executives said yesterday.
“Taiwan remains a market with huge business growth potential, given its top ranking worldwide in terms of insurance policy penetration,” chief executive Danny Lam (林順才) told a media briefing.
Even though Taiwanese like to buy insurance policies, many do not have proper or sufficient coverage, Lam said, adding that this, coupled with the rapidly aging population, suggests ample room for growth.
As part of its efforts to deepen its presence in the country, Allianz intends to enlarge its 1,320-strong sales agent force by 20 percent over next year and 2016, Lam said.
The insurer aims to boost the proportion of revenue contributed by protection-type policies to 10 percent of the total, but will maintain its focus on investment-linked products, which generate 95 percent of its sales, Lam said.
An internal poll showed that local households boosted life insurance and pension assets by 12.6 percent in the past year, while raising financial assets by 10.1 percent.
The survey underlines the popularity of life insurance policies and merits an aggressive business strategy going forward, Lam said.
To this end, Allianz Taiwan has created an all-female sales team in Greater Kaohsiung intended to serve female customers in the south of the country, he said. The team is composed of eight staffers, but this figure may reach 20 by year’s end.
Lam also said the firm has upgraded its estimate for gross written premiums by 14 percent to NT$80 billion (US$2.6 billion) this year, from an earlier forecast of a 7.7 percent pickup, thanks to a stronger showing in the first eight months.
Sales agents generated 40 percent of new business, while bancassurance contributed another 40 percent, he said, with brokers and telemarketing staffers making up the remaining 20 percent.
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