AIA, the country's biggest life-insurance player, yesterday kicked off its AIA Financial Health Check campaign. By introducing the programme to existing customers, the company hopes this year to persuade its three million existing policyholders to buy another 600,000 policies, or 20 per cent more.

Under the new programme, sales representatives visit individual customers and help analyse the type of policy they should have and for how much value.

"The relationship between the sales agents and customers will no longer be a push to buy, as before. It will be the customers who choose whatever policy fulfils their financial needs," said Thomas James White, executive vice president and general manager.

"Regular revisits to check up on the financial health of the customers will strengthen the relationship between them and help the customers achieve their financial needs properly."

AIA data indicates that 70 per cent of its existing customers each holds only one policy, and 70 per cent of these policies carry a minimum assured sum of not more than Bt100,000. "Before, most customers would buy a product simply to stop being annoyed by their friends or others who kept pushing them to buy the product. With this programme, they will realise their true financial needs," said Sataya Tepbunterng, senior vice president and chief agency officer. "The financial-health check-up will take no longer than 15 minutes."

 "There'll be no more chit-chat taking up an hour or more like there used to be. This method requires customers to spend only a short amount of time, and the sales agent can be more confident about approaching customers."

The company has 63,000 sales representatives and 6,000 "leaders". The company began its new training programme last month, and Sataya said 60 per cent of customers approached so far had expressed satisfaction.

Through this method, AIA expects to break the one-million mark in sales of new policies. Currently, it sells 60,000-70,000 a month, compared to 35,000 a month in 2001.

As of the end of last month, the company had assets of Bt341 billion and Bt219 billion in reserves.

An endowment product, better known as a single-premium product, is a term life insurance policy in which the policyholder pays the entire premium in one go. The product used to be popular, because it promised to pay higher interest than what could be obtained the general market.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation