KUALA LUMPUR: AIA Public Takaful Bhd does not just view itself as just another Shariah-compliant insurance provider, but a comprehensive addition to a healthier life, both physically and financially.
In a recent interview with NST Business, chief executive officer Elmie Aman Najas explained that AIA Public Takaful is on the clear path to become one the top Takaful players in the country, thanks to the creation of the AIA Elite Academy.
“AIA Malaysia has been serving the country for over 70 years, while AIA Takaful is only eight years now as we were founded in 2011. However despite that, we have already acquired a respectable number of policy holders,” he said.
Elmie declined to share the number of AIA Takaful policy holders specifically but said that as at the end of 2018, AIA Malaysia was serving some 3.5 million customers nationwide.
“AIA Malaysia has RM51 billion worth of assets and we do see that number expanding every year, and this is mostly through the help of our very 14,000 hardworking and dedicated life planners (agents),” he said.
“Unlike other life planners in the industry, AIA Malaysia’s are equipped with the best in class in terms of training and technology usage through the AIA Elite Academy, and this will help drive our penetration up.”
Officially launched earlier this year, AIA Elite Academy helps nurture up-and-coming life planners with the necessary skill sets and knowledge to excel in their profession.
It features an 18-month long on-boarding programme that focuses on financial knowledge and social media marketing while providing new life planners with individual coaching and mentoring.
“The academy is a great foundation for those who are aspiring to become a life planner. Back in the day, people used to view selling insurance as a part-time job, but we at AIA would like to tell you otherwise,” he said.
Other attractive factor to the AIA brand, besides its comprehensive insurance and takaful offerings, is the AIA Vitality Program, which already have some 90,000 individual members since its launch in 2016.
AIA Vitality is a comprehensive health program that provides members with the knowledge, ways and motivations to create positive behavior for a long period of time.
AIA PUBLIC Takaful also offers shariah-compliant medical plan such as A-Plus Health-i, which were adapted from conventional versions, A-Plus Health which protects and leads the people in line with the company's brand promise.
“These offering feature a Health Wallet that has never been offered by any takaful or health company in the industry. For every year when customers did not make any claim from A-Plus Health-i, a total amount will be credited into the health wallet, up to 10 times,” he said.
"The customer can then use the amount to undergo a medical examination, get a vaccine injection and others related to healthcare that is not covered by the plan. In fact, this is the first medical plan in the market that offers complete health protection to customers and supports them at various levels of health such as prevention, hospitality and recovery.”
Elmie welcomed Bank Negara Malaysia’s Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) initiative, which is designed to to enhance business practices and values within the local Islamic finance space.
“These initiatives provide a platform for companies to offer better and innovative products by taking into account the well-being of the community, the environment and the growth of the economy and creating better value for stakeholders,” he said.
“Basing on the five prongs of VBI, AIA PUBLIC Takaful will focus on empowering communities, providing more meaningful, easy-to-understand protection, easy-to-understand process and more importantly, access to simple products,” he said.