Being professional: A keys to success
Being professional: A keys to success
Being selective in determining a market segment, and professional in assessing a risk, are characteristics that should be applied to the market strategy of insurance companies in Indonesia. If these are not followed, an insurance company may be having a difficult time competing effectively.
Joseph Kristanto Tan, President Director of PT Asuransi CIGNA Indonesia (CIGNA), incorporated in 1986, said that committing to such a strategy through the years has made CIGNA one of the healthiest insurance companies in the market. "As a multinational company, we can utilize our worldwide capacity and resources to support our business strategy," he said.
There are two basic insurance product lines provided by CIGNA: Property & Casualty (P&C), such as for fire insurance, marine cargo, third-party liability, etc.; and Accident & Health (A&H), such as for hospital care, accidental death, etc.
With regard to the current economic situation, he admitted that it has impacted CIGNA's business, as it has other businesses. "Our business is slower than normal, and the number of policy cancellations has increased, especially U.S. dollar policies.
"However, we are confident that we will survive this crisis and achieve improved results this year."
This will be achieved by, inter alia, servicing policyholders better and securing assets by being conservative in investing funds, he said.
There is a general perception in society on how difficult it is for a policyholder to process an insurance claim, and Joseph admitted that such a perception does exist, adding that there are, in fact, many reasons behind this problem.
One common problem is inadequate or incomplete documentation. "People need to understand that an insurance company must get complete documentation before it is able to make a decision whether a claim is legitimate," Joseph said. "The other problem is that sometimes, people buy insurance without knowing what the coverage is exactly.
"Therefore, if a policyholder files a claim which turns out to be an event that is not under coverage, this will create an issue because the policyholder will think that the insurance company is trying to get out of paying the claim."
Accordingly, he believed, policyholders must have an understanding of what their insurance coverage is, and have complete documentation if they want to get their claims settled quickly.
Other important issues which need to get special attention from CIGNA are market the opportunities and challenges for the insurance industry in facing the globalization era. As a multinational company, CIGNA is ready to compete in the tight insurance marketplace.
"We must prepared ourselves to face the open market," said Joseph. But, he also hoped that the local/national insurance companies will also prepare themselves, as this time is getting closer.
Concerning the Insurance Council of Indonesia, Joseph said that there was still a lot that could be done by the council to support Indonesia's insurance industry.
He would like to make one suggestion: "The council is managed by people within the industry, that is, people who have to take care of their own companies before they can spend time on council business. This creates some constraints.
"Accordingly, as in developed countries, it would be ideal if the council is managed by people who dedicate 100 percent of their time to the development of the insurance industry. This will make the council more proactive in accommodating its members' needs."