Ordinary members of the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) have elected the members of the LIA Management Committee at the Association's Annual General Meeting (AGM). The LIA Management Committee re-elected Mr Khor Hock Seng as President, as well as Mr Nishit Majmudar and Mr Kevin Stone as Deputy Presidents for a second consecutive term of office.
Mr Daniel Wang, Executive Director (Insurance Department), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said, “The LIA has been working closely with MAS to raise standards in the insurance industry and safeguard consumer interests. In the past year, LIA, together with the other insurance associations and MAS, has successfully established the Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee to promote a stronger risk culture in the industry.
“LIA has also promulgated responsible recruitment practices to ensure financial advisory representatives continue to serve their customers well. I congratulate the LIA Management Committee on its successful election and look forward to the continued partnership between LIA and MAS.”
Mr Khor Hock Seng
Mr Khor Hock Seng, President, LIA Singapore, said: “Current uncertainties in the world underscore the critical need for life insurers to provide protection when it is most needed. The life insurance industry remains committed to this. In addition, this year, we will continue to invest in initiatives that will bring value to customers, our workforce, and society at large.”
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The Management Committee, comprising eight members, has identified three top priorities for the year:
Digitalisation and transforming the workforce for the future
Preparing the workforce for the future continues to be a priority for the industry in the coming years, as companies accelerate digitalisation efforts to meet consumer demand and increase operational efficiency.
The industry is working closely with the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) and Institute of Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) to review and refresh training support for employees, including upskilling for HR professionals to drive this transformation within their respective organisations.
Driving progress in adopting sustainable practices in the life insurance industry
In 2019, LIA Singapore played an active role in the WWF’s Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative (ASFI),
which organised workshops for more than 1,300 participants from various financial institutions aimed
at equipping them with the knowledge and tools to implement Environmental, Social, and Governance
(ESG) best practices.
LIA Singapore alongside General Insurance Association (GIA) and Singapore Reinsurers’ Association (SRA) also worked closely with MAS on guidelines around Environmental Risk Management.
The life industry is committed to channelling more resources toward advancing the sustainable insurance agenda, given Singapore’s vulnerability to existential threats such as rising water levels.
Championing good culture and conduct amongst financial advisory representatives
Raising the professionalism of financial advisory representatives and employees continues to be a priority for the industry.
In October 2019, MAS together with GIA, LIA and SRA established the Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee (ICCSC). The ICCSC is expected to recommend best practices on ethical business practices that safeguard consumer interests and ensure fair dealing.
In addition to the three focus areas for 2020, the life insurance industry will continue to build on the momentum of existing initiatives:
Ensuring continued access to quality healthcare with Health insurance Task Force (HITF) recommendations
The latest initiative of a standard LIA Pre-Authorisation Form was implemented from October 2019. It is part of the industry’s ongoing efforts to manage health insurance claims costs by ensuring that nonemergency hospital treatments are pre-approved by insurers.
Following this, LIA Singapore will be ramping up efforts to make pre-authorisation service the accepted process for non-emergency medical treatments.
All key HITF recommendations have been implemented. LIA Singapore will continue to monitor the initiatives and explore ways to enhance their effectiveness. Potential areas include encouraging policyholders to seek treatment with panel doctors and exploring medical fee benchmarks for more types of inpatient medical services.
Enabling better financial planning and narrowing individuals’ protection gap
LIA Singapore introduced the online Life Insurance Calculator that computes the estimated dollar amounts of mortality protection and CI protection, respectively, needed by the user to close his insurance gaps.
The Association strongly encourages individuals to take the first step of finding out what their protection needs are with the Life Insurance Calculator, and then discussing with a financial advisory representative on possible insurance plans.
Industry results and outlook for 2020
The life insurance industry achieved 0.4 per cent growth in 2019, against the backdrop of Singapore’s muted economic growth for the year, amounting to S$4.3 billion in weighted new business premiums.
LIA Singapore maintains a conservative outlook for the year amid ongoing global trade frictions and public health threats.
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