Income Insurance is taking a stab at a new business model as it looks at ways to grow its topline by expanding its distribution abilities.
The composite insurer is looking to be a business partner to those who want to start their own financial advisory (FA) firms, according to several market sources.
This will be done through the insurer’s wholly-owned subsidiary called Income Advisory Group Holdings (IAG), which was incorporated in Singapore in early August.
As a business partner, IAG, led by Ms Grace Tng, will hold a stake in the new FA firm.
Income likened the new approach to a joint venture or a consortium.
It said the FA firms can choose to join IAG and sell either just Income’s products or also offer plans from other insurers.
IAG will support the new FA firms through shared services in a number of areas, including administrative matters, processes, technology and compliance. The latter two components can be costly, according to industry players.
“Such efficiencies are essential to help FA firms thrive in a highly regulated environment,” the insurer said.
Some market players noted that the IAG business model can be appealing as it plays to the strengths of the people who join.
They added that the new approach leaves the management of the new FA firms to focus on what they do best – sales and recruitment.
“In the constantly evolving Singapore market, having scale in distribution is necessary to serve a relatively mature insurance market in Singapore,” Income said.
Currently, Income has an FA arm, called Infinitum Financial Advisory.
Infinitum, which now has roughly 180 advisers, was formed in June 2019 following the acquisition of two FA firms.
Income said the new strategy complements its omni-channel distribution strategy, which includes its tied agents or agents who only sell Income products; and those who offer a range of plans from different insurers, including financial advisers and retail branches.
While some observers described the business model as “clever”, the move has raised several questions, key of which is how sustainable this could be in a highly-competitive insurance market in Singapore, reported The Straits Times.