Two-year master plan to spur Asean insurance industry growth

KUALA LUMPUR: The Asean Insurance Council (AIC) is planning to execute a two-year master plan to drive the industry's growth in the region to 7% from 2.4% in 2013.
Insurance penetration is expected to grow, in line with integration under the Asean Economic Community (AEC), set to be established by year-end.
AIC secretary-general Evalina Pietruschka (pix) said the introduction of a strategic quality control framework and the need for benchmarked standards are among the strategies needed to be implemented to encourage the development of highly competent Asean talent in the sector.
"We do not have any specific time frame to achieve the 7%. But we are aggressively approaching universities to promote the insurance industry as a major profession of choice.
"This requires a concerted effort by the industry players," she told reporters on the sidelines of a roundtable discussion on Asean talent here yesterday.
The dialogue was organised by the Finance Accreditation Agency, jointly with the Asean Insurance Education Committee, to gather industry leaders to share best practices and deliberate on additional measures to ensure the sustainable growth of the industry.
On talent movement across the 10-member Asean, Pietruschka noted that the council is in the midst of discussing the labour movement policy at the regional level to create a more exciting marketplace.
"Each member country has a different set of regulations and policies on allowing cross border talent. Right now, there are important ongoing talks on this," she added.
Pietruschka said the larger markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia are more aggressive in approaching young talent.
The AIC has organised a roadshow to instill greater awareness of the AEC, while focusing on the industry players, noting the importance of the segment in the integration plan.
The awareness among the industry players is important to prepare them to operate efficiently and subsequently, provide more product variation in the Asean market, Pietruschka said. – Bernama