Insurance Industry

PRUDENTIAL ASSURANCE MALAYSIA BERHAD
-------------------------------------------------
REPORT ON THE CURRENT INSURANCE INDUSTRY SITUATION AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY
TERMS OF REFERENCE
To investigate the current industry situation and employment opportunities available in the insurance industry, specifically in Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad.
-------------------------------------------------
PROCEDURE
-------------------------------------------------
Research were done through discussion among team members and reading from the company website, Bank Negara Malaysia website, Jobstreet and newspaper.
FINDINGS
1. The industry 2.1. Malaysia’s insurance industry has achieved significant progress in the last decade. Based on Bank Negara Malaysia report during the period from 1988 to 1999, key insurance indicators show that:
• The market penetration increased significantly from 11.4% to 31%.
• The total paid-up capital of the industry and average capitalisation per insurer increased by 532.4% and 476% respectively.
• The industry’s trading ratio improved from 308.5% to 175.7%, indicating that insurers are much less highly geared.
• The total insurance fund assets and average asset base per insurance fund increased by 545.9% and 521% respectively.
• The technical reserves of general insurers strengthened from 122.6% of net premiums to 170.3%; and
• The retention ratio of general insurance business rose from 75.6% to 87.8%. 2.2. The insurance industry in Malaysia is relatively small by international standards. However, with the projected economic growth, a large proportion of the population will reach levels of per capita income that will significantly increase the demand for risk and savings-type products. The ability of the domestic insurance industry to capture a share of this growth will depend on the ability of insurers to maintain their competitive positions both within the industry specifically, as well as the financial sector generally, in the face of new challenges and the changing financial and economic environment.

2.3. The major challenges facing the insurance industry going forward are:
• Increasing competition from traditional players as global trends of consolidation and specialisation create international insurers that are larger, better skilled and more focused on core areas of competence;
• Competition from new players such as asset managers, captive insurers (general insurance), and independent financial advisers.
• Adapting to technological advances that have fundamentally changed the way business is conducted; and
• Meeting the needs of more sophisticated and more informed consumers. 2.4. In light of these challenges, Malaysia’s insurance industry needs to progress further towards world best practice benchmarks in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and stability by:
• Domestic players in the life and general insurance industries should improve further on economies of scale
• Progress should be made towards the development of skills in areas of management, information technology and underwriting
• Competition should be encouraged to reduce acquisition costs, especially in life insurance, and premiums charged in general insurance
• Distribution channels such as independent financial advisers, banks, telephone, direct mail and the internet should be further developed
• Measures should be taken to improve the productivity and quality of the agency force
• The range of products available in the market should be expanded to include more sophisticated products.

2.5. As the borders between insurers, asset manager and banks continue to blur, and as banks and insurers increasingly begin to take advantage of the opportunities of bancassurance and of multi-product personal financial advisers, it will be increasingly important to ensure that regulation and supervision across the sectors are aligned.

2. The established corporate players in the insurance industry
The established corporate players in the industry which were listed by Bank Negara Malaysia are divided into four groups namely as:

3.6. Life and General Business * American International Assurance Bhd * Etiqa Insurance Berhad * ING Insurance Berhad * MCIS Zurich Insurance Berhad * Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad * Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad

3.7. Life Business only * AXA Affin Life Insurance Berhad * Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad * AmLife Insurance Berhad * CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad * Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad * Hong Leong Assurance Berhad * Manulife Insurance Berhad * Tokio Marine Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd * Uni.Asia Life Assurance Berhad

3.8. General Business only * AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad * Ace Jerneh Insurance Berhad * AXA Affin General Insurance Berhad * Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad * AmG Insurance Berhad * Berjaya Sompo Insurance Berhad * Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Berhad * Lonpac Insurance Berhad * MSIG Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd * Multi-Purpose Insurans Berhad * Overseas Assurance Corporation (Malaysia) Berhad * Pacific & Orient Insurance Co. Berhad * Pacific Insurance Berhad, The * Progressive Insurance Berhad * QBE Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad * RHB Insurance Berhad * Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Berhad * Tune Insurance Malaysia Berhad * Uni.Asia General Insurance Berhad

3.9. Takaful Operators * AIA AFG Takaful Bhd. * AmFamily Takaful Berhad * CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad * Etiqa Takaful Berhad * Great Eastern Takaful Sdn Bhd * HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd * Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Berhad * ING PUBLIC Takaful Ehsan Berhad * MAA Takaful Berhad * Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad * Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad * Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd

3. Background of Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad

4.10. Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad (PAMB) was established in Malaysia in 1924. PAMB is part of Prudential of the United Kingdom. Established in London in 1848, Prudential is one of the world 's leading retail financial services groups. It provides insurance and financial services through its four main business units throughout the world. Prudential has been in existence for over 160 years, and has more than 25 million customers worldwide and £363 billion in funds under management at 30 June 2012. With life and fund management operations in 13 Asia markets, Prudential is currently the region 's leading Europe-based life insurer in terms of market coverage and number of top-three market positions, and a leading regional fund manager.

3.2 Vision of PAMB is to be the preferred insurer in Malaysia, always anticipating customers ' needs and delivering world class customer experience. While mission is to provide the customers and dependents with financial security and peace of mind, by offering a superior range of savings, protection, investment and retirement products.

3.3 For the financial year ended 2011, it achieved a record RM1.107 billion in new business annual premium equivalent (APE), representing a 8% growth on 2010. This new business APE comprised Life Insurance sales and Takaful contributions. Takaful products distributed by PAMB’s Wealth Planners and agents are underwritten by Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad. With a customer base of over 1 million and an agency force made up of over 12,000 Wealth Planners and agents, Prudential currently accounts for over 20% of the market share (Kaur, 2011).

3.4 As an innovative leading insurer, PAMB serves the savings, protection and investment needs of Malaysians by offering a full range of financial solutions through its 43 branches nationwide. With the backing of approximately 1,300 employees and over 13,000 agents and Wealth Planners, it is committed to helping people achieve their hopes and dreams for a brighter and financially secure future. 4. Products and services they offer

4.1 Protection 4.2.1 Accident
Provide protection on death, total and permanent disability with a built in accidental protection optional benefit. * PRUvalue plus

4.2.2 Life
Provide protection upon death, total and permanent disability and upon diagnosis of any of the 36 critical illnesses. * Crisis Cover Plus * PRUmortgage * PRU88 * PRUterm * PRUvalue plus * PRUvantage * PRUlady standalone * PRUlife ready * PRUmultiple crisis cover * PRUmy child * PRUsenior med

4.2 Senior Insurance
Help address those large medical bills that may face in later years. * PRUsenior med

4.3 Retirement
A single premium investment-linked plan that pays a monthly guaranteed income and has the potential to grow in investment for retirement needs. * PRUretirement growth

4.4 Child
Gives control and flexibility to design a complete plan for child with an unparalleled choice of protection benefit ranging from health, hospitalization, accidental and critical illness benefit. * PRUmy child * PRUearly start / PRUbest start

4.5 Female Insurance
Provide protection against financial impact arising from female illnesses, death or disability. * PRUlady standalone

4.6 Critical Illness & Health
Cover medical cost at any participate clinics or hospital. Protect against a wide range of critical illness. * Crisis Cover Plus * PRUhealth * PRUmultiple crisis cover * PRUclinic care * PRUlady standalone

4.7 Savings & Investments 4.8.3 Savings
A single plan that combines protection, savings and liquidity. Provide protection if an event occur and include saving element which provide bonus. * PRUcash * PRUcash double reward * PRUcash premier

4.8.4 Investment
Choose from a range of prudential funds depending on which fund best suits individual needs and risk profile. * PRUlink global investor account * PRUlink investor account

5. The market they serve 6.11. Citizen
Prudential serve all Malaysian. 6.12. Age
Prudential serve all age from prenatal, child, teenagers, adult and senior citizen. 6.13. Income
Prudential serve all level of income from low, middle and high income.

6. The entry level
There are limited numbers of job vacancies available in the area of operations for fresh graduates and most of the companies in the insurance industry requires at least one year of experience. However, we do manage to find some entry level vacancies for instance: 7.14. Underwriting, Executive 7.15. Strategic Planning, Assistant Manager 7.16. Product Development, Executive CONCLUSION 1) The Malaysia’s insurance industry shows significant achievement and growth, thus create more workforce demand with skills in areas of management, information technology and underwriting.

2) Prudential is one of the world 's leading retail financial services groups and has received numerous recognition around the world. It shows that Prudential is the ideal environment to begin our career and has the capacity to offer us a rich and satisfying career

3) Since there are limited number of vacancies for fresh graduates, competition will be more intense and graduates need to outshine others to get the job

APPENDICES

Executive Underwriting
Responsibilities:
* Provide technical training for underwriting * claims and / or customer service staff to prepare them for their functional areas.
Requirements : * Possess a degree in Biological Science / Biomedical Science / Business Administration / Mathematics / Economics / Statistics. * Ability to pay close attention to details and able to work in office desk bound environment. * Must be willing to work long hours, on weekends and public holidays if required to. * Able to work independently and in a team in a target based environment. * Proficient in written and spoken English. * Excellent interpersonal and relationship skill.

Assistant Manager, Strategic Planning
Responsibilities:
* Work with management team to develop company 's strategic and operational plans * Assist with development of financial budget * Assist in any ad-hoc projects as assigned.
Requirements : * Possess a degree in Finance, Accounting, Actuarial Science, Statistic or a related discipline with a minimum of three years relevant working experience. Those with exposure in insurance reporting will be an added advantage. * Well versed in Microsoft applications especially in Excel and Powerpoint. * Exposure to SQL, VBA or SAS will be an added advantage.
Product Development, Executive 

Responsibilities:
* develope insurance product in order to grow market share and to achieve set targets * Ensure product meets compliance requirements and processes * Assist Section Head of Product Development to identify opportunities and enhance products via product bundling for cross selling and up selling efforts * Assist to identify the right product for all insurance distribution channel and monitor sales performance in order to increase Regular Premium sales Requirements: * Undergraduate degree in Actuarial Science or other Mathematics/Statistics - based major with strong academic results * Strong in analytical skills and keen eye for details * Excellent interpersonal and relationship skill. * Familiarity with SAS, MS Office,MiniTab & SPSS

REFERENCES
1. “Prudential”, Retrieved December 23th, 2012 from http://www2.prudential.com.my
2. Kaur, S (2011), “Prudential new business sales hit record RM1.02b”. News Straits Time
3. http://www.jobstreet.com.my/
4. chapter four insurance sector. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bnm.gov.my
5. “List of Licensed Insurance Companies & Takaful Operators in Malaysia”. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=13&cat=insurance

References: 1. “Prudential”, Retrieved December 23th, 2012 from http://www2.prudential.com.my 2. Kaur, S (2011), “Prudential new business sales hit record RM1.02b”. News Straits Time 3. http://www.jobstreet.com.my/ 4. chapter four insurance sector. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bnm.gov.my 5. “List of Licensed Insurance Companies & Takaful Operators in Malaysia”. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=13&cat=insurance