The insurance industry has evolved over the decades—from being a way to protect properties and business to now an important source of long-term financial security for individuals. Vietnam, while late to enter the insurance market, is now welcoming major developments, especially with the industry’s unstoppable digital transformation.
AIA Vietnam is surely leading the way. From tapping big data to move the needle on customer engagement to organizing ‘nest by AIA’ and ‘AIA Exchange’ to help create more value for customers, the life insurance group is seeking to expand its reach with an exclusive partnership with one of Vietnam’s biggest e-commerce platforms, Tiki.
As Vietnam’s first comprehensive partnership between a life insurer and a digital platform, this historic alliance is aimed at helping Vietnamese families “live healthier, longer and better lives”.
“This unique and first to market partnership starts a new era of personal life insurance in Vietnam. Together, united by a shared vision to deliver seamless health and protection to Vietnamese families, we will focus on three distinct areas: Lifestyle benefits and innovative distribution; distinctive digital health & wellness offerings and other financial & e-commerce propositions,” said Wayne Besant, Chief Executive Officer at AIA Vietnam.
“We believe with Tiki’s existing assets and market leadership, we can bring an accessible and enhanced customer service proposition to make a positive difference in the lives of the people of Vietnam. We are very excited to extend AIA Vietnam’s market leadership and work together with our partner, Tiki.”
Under the 10-year agreement, AIA Vietnam will become Tiki’s exclusive insurance partner, enabling the millions of customers on the online marketplace to gain access to highly relevant life and health insurance solutions. The two companies will jointly explore opportunities to meet the diverse and increasing financial needs of Vietnamese people.
By leveraging AIA’s omnichannel distribution and leading technology capabilities, alongside Tiki’s leading all-in-one e-commerce platform, this partnership offers significant potential for AIA Vietnam and Tiki to build long term relationships with even more customers across the country.
“Insurance is a great way to take care of oneself and one‘s family and help society at the same time. Partnering with a global leader like AIA allows us to embrace that vision by creating personalized life and health insurance solutions for everyone, every need and every circumstance in a seamless, digital-first experience on our platform,” said Tran Ngoc Thai Son, Founder and CEO of Tiki.
This strategic partnership will fuse AIA’s expertise in insurance and Tiki’s deep and hyper-local understanding of Vietnamese consumers, thus creating a hassle-free, Vietnamese-centric online insurance service. AIA will offer bite-size protection and lifestyle-related products on the Tiki platform.
AIA is currently serving financial safety for more than 1.4 million customers in Vietnam. Tiki, meanwhile, started as an online bookstore in 2010 and is now an all-in-one commerce platform for millions of Vietnamese consumers.
Insurance is more than a safety net
In a different interview with Vietcetera, Wayne Besant underlined the importance of health and life insurance even before the pandemic propelled market boom. It’s more than a safety net for when disaster strikes, he said, but an opportunity for people to lead better lives, with less worries.
The challenge of getting Vietnamese sign up for insurance remains critical, even for big companies such as AIA. According to a report in 2020, the country has among the world’s lowest life insurance penetration levels. Fortunately, as insurers give more focus on the specific needs and demands of the people they serve, the industry is forecast to gain double-digit growth.
As Vietnam’s recurring and worsening outbreaks continue to cause panic and fear, awareness of health protection has increased, especially in the middle class.
What should one consider before getting an insurance? Wayne emphasized that the “one-size-fits-all” model is definitely something to avoid. The insurance products and services should be tailored to one’s needs, which can only be attained when the insurer has a deep understanding of the local country. Even then, what works for Ho Chi Minh City consumers doesn’t necessarily make sense for consumers in Bac Ninh.
“COVID-19 has certainly changed the lens for most industries and the insurance sector is no different. We are seeing the emergence of new online tools, more propensity modeling, less reliance on in-branch visits and better communication tools. As we bring new ways to meet the needs of the customers in this new reality, the focus is on digital. That being said, insurance will remain a relationship-based industry, with technology as the enabler. People remain at the heart of everything we do,” Wayne explained.