|
Extracts
from the address of the Chairman, Buy Malaysian Campaign With national sentiment still running high with the public, I would hope that our member companies are continuing to use our "Buy Malaysian" logo on all stationery, promotional materials as well as in their advertisements. The logo is a symbol of the strength and nationalistic spirit of our member companies. We have invested heavily in the promotion of this logo to give a competitive edge to our member companies. We are committed to constantly project this logo so that NIAM companies are easily identified and supported by loyal Malaysians. Teras Malaysia During the year,
Teras Malaysia, the joint life insurance product from our eight life
member companies namely, Am Assurance, Hong Leong Assurance, MAA, MCIS,
Mayban Life, MBA Life, MNI and Talasco. The product was created by the joint efforts of member companies who created a common product using common standardised pricing, terms and promotional activities. The product features a pioneering money back guarantee and was promoted heavily through the press, radio and in brochures. Teras Malaysia primarily caters for the average Malaysians in the middle, lower and working class and particularly those who do not have any life insurance. The product is selling well and for the four months from October 1998 to January 1999, the eight companies achieved a sales record of 7,500 policies with an annualised premium of RM5.5 million. Pension Annuity and Health Insurance Another two products in the pipeline are Teras Kebangsaan which is a life pension annuity programme and the Teras Rakyat, a health insurance scheme for both life and general insurers. Currently, a working committee is studying the viability of the two products and it is the intended to promote these products jointly with the Employees Provident Fund. Acceptance of insurance policies by Banks One long standing problem that we have been facing is the acceptance of our insurance policies by banks. Through the earlier efforts of NIAM, the banks have extended their panel of insurers to at least six insurance companies. However, when a borrower takes his own policy, the Banks reject the policy if the insurance company is not on their panel. This puts the said insurance company in a bad light and affects the overall business relationship. At our meetings with Bank Negara, we highlighted that this does not reflect well as all insurance companies are under the Supervision of BNM and thus would be meeting minimum standards to be approved to continue in business. As a practicable solution, our Exco proposed that insurance policies, if taken up by the borrower up to a risk of RM2 million, be accepted by the Banks. BNM recommended that our Exco follow up with the Association of Banks in Malaysia. Strategic
Review - Other matters under consideration NIAM has put forward to Bank Negara several proposals to assist the growth of Malaysian controlled insurance companies. Apart from the pension
annuity and health insurance mentioned earlier, we are in discussion
for our members to be granted approval for the following lines of business: The response from Bank Negara has been quite positive and we will continue to have further dialogues to pursue these three areas. Seminars Another aspect that NIAM is focusing attention on is the development of greater professionalism and skills within the insurance industry. During 1998, we conducted a total of 7 seminars for middle and top management. We are continuing with our seminars and will be carrying out seven programmes this year, one of which is for Top Management. We have engaged the services of Mr Francis Seaw, Dr Palan and Mr Jeremy Spoor as Facilitators for seminars on Presentation Skills and Effective Marketing and Customer Service as well as General Management Skills. National Insurance Claims Society (NICS) On 15 December 1998, we witnessed the official launch of NICS. The objective in setting up NICS is to improve the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of claims settlement procedures to bring about a unified claims settlement framework for the industry. With a proper setup, it is the hope that matters relating to claims can be jointly acknowledged and resolved by our member companies. The Chairman of NICS is Mr Goh Ching Onn and the Executive Committee consists of 12 members. As NICS is only in its infancy, NIAM will be financing the Society's activities initially. The membership of NICS corporate members as well as individuals. NIAM member companies constitute corporate members with voting rights. Individual membership is open to claims personnel of insurance companies and loss adjusters, etc. Marine Insurance NIAM had been following up on the issue of having greater local placement of marine insurance on imports particularly by NFPEs (Non-Financial Public Enterprises). However, as PIAM is now pursuing this matter with the NFPEs, the NIAM Exco has decided to focus on this issue by creating greater awareness of retirement additional income in older age. We are now planning a Buy Malaysian campaign through advertisements in trade journals, circulation to the various Chambers of Commerce to highlight the advantage of the double taxation relief by placing Marine Insurance with Malaysian insurance. We will also be printing leaflets for member companies for circulation. NIAM RI Club The Exco decided to change the identity of the NIAM RI Club to NIAM Cocktails to better reflect that such gatherings are not just for reinsurance purposes. The NIAM RI Club had three cocktail receptions last year and we are planning to have another three this year. We hope that all have benefited from these gatherings in terms of better liaison to promote comradeship, reinsurance exchange and team spirit amongst our member companies. For the evening, we have invited the recently appointed Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission, Encik Ali Tan Sri Abdul Kadir, to speak on "The Direction of the Securities Commission and our Corporate Sector".
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
