Sitting on the judging panel of the 5th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards is Rohit Nambiar, CEO of AXA AFFIN Life Insurance.
Rohit is the Young Leader of the Year at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2019. He has over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry.
Here are his thoughts about the Awards and the industry:
Q What qualities would you be looking out for in selecting winners?
Insurance is no longer just selling policies and paying claims but has slowly transformed to being a partner to the customers and empowering them to live a better life.
One must first have an entrepreneurial mindset – always on a lookout for opportunity, being innovative, not afraid to fail, and most importantly, obsessed with making a positive impact on people’s life.
Secondly, would be putting the customers’ needs first - always view through the lenses of the customers and understanding their needs, be it making a purchase, submitting a claim or improving their lifestyle on a healthier path. Lastly, integrity and ethics would be crucial qualities as our industry rely heavily on trust and a proven track-record to showcase those qualities.
Q Why should the industry participate actively in the Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards?
This is a prestigious and well-recognised award and will definitely boost the agents, advisers and companies in solidifying their reputation and trustworthiness.
Zooming out on the industry level, it will elevate greater professionalism and a trusted insurance sector could definitely attract more talents moving forward.
Healthy competition among professionals also helps the industry to become more innovative and customer-centric which will eventually benefit the public at large.
Q How do you see distribution in the insurance industry evolving in the years to come?
Responding to changing social expectations, agents will slowly move away from traditional role of a salesperson to become highly-trained professional consultants. Agents will remain at the principal of the more complex life insurance and commercial insurance sector as these solutions require advice, trust and various touch points.
The service expectation on insurance also changed considerably. Agents today will have a tougher job as customers are more informed, thanks to the internet and social media, therefore they need to provide need-based selling and be equipped with the right knowledge in offering the best protection and financial solution for the customers. Service level should also be fast or real-time with communication methods being more and more accessible.
With the emerging digital channels, physical branches may be reduced, and collection of cash will slowly be abolished and be replaced by e-commerce, payment gateway, e-wallet and other new systems.
Q What must advisers do to continue to stay relevant?
Agents and advisers must keep enhancing professionalism especially on ethics, obtaining knowledge beyond just product information and also other relevant aspects.
They must be agile in adopting new technology and the evolving needs of customers. With the rise of the new generation, they need to be creative with their approach, always keep an open mind in learning new things like e-commerce, payment gateway, e-wallet, new systems, Fintech, Insurtech, etc. and equipping themselves with digital tools.
By embracing digitalisation, agents and advisers will be able to make insurance accessible to a wider target segment of different life stages.
The Awards
The 5th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards (“Awards”) has just gotten bigger and better this year. It is unlike any Awards in Asia for the insurance industry as it goes beyond production to focus on values such as persistency, moral and ethical code, integrity, giving back to the community and professionalism.
In order to identify true excellence within the insurance community in Asia, the Awards is made up of close to 30 esteemed judges, comprising of CEOs, Presidents, senior executives and industry leaders. The judging process is independently audited to ensure transparency and impartiality across the competition.
This year’s search for the best professionals in the insurance industry to honour and recognise them is on.
Nominations end 31st March. Submit yours today.
For more details on how to submit your nominations, please reach out to
Mr Mohamad Hyqel
Awards Administrator, Asia Insurance Review
lifeawards@asiainsurancereview.com
The Awards is organised by Asia Insurance Review and Asia Advisers Network with LIMRA as co-organiser, AIA as strategic partner, and strong industry support from leading insurance associations and organisations.
Check out the Awards website here: https://www.asiaadvisersnetwork.com/awards2020
Want to read stories on past winners of the Awards? Here you go:
My satisfaction comes from the success of each member in my team - Jason Chu, Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year
Digital Agency Leader of the Year - Calvin Lee
InsurTech of the Year 2019 - Goalsmapper
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