With the recent rebrand of AIA Philippines, the Company continues to ramp up its internal transformation to be better positioned for the future. Spurred by its Hong Kong-based parent company’s technology, digital and analytics ambitions, the country’s premier life insurance company steps up its efforts to keep up with the changing needs of the business to better serve its customers.
To strengthen its capabilities, AIA Philippines is set to develop world-class technology that will revitalize its processes with a digitally-enabled customer journey, and data and analytics underpinning business directions. AIA Philippines Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Ang shares, “Undergoing transformation like this in an established multinational organization like AIA Philippines is a big challenge that will require everyone to be on board. Our people will need to upskill while at the same time, go through culture change to keep up with the demands necessitated by this direction.”
Transforming AIA PH through world-class technology
“Our goal is to become a digital insurer where technology enables us to provide better service to customers and stronger support to our distribution channels. We want to harness the power of digital and data to create more relevant offerings for our customers. As the world slowly recovers from the pandemic, we want to be ready and able to deliver, well-positioned for the future,” explains AIA Philippines Chief Technology Officer Noel Mendoza.
AIA Philippines began its cloud adoption as part of modernizing its IT infrastructure. By embracing a Cloud-First mindset, it will be able to address its technology needs dynamically, making it scalable in almost real time and allowing seamless integration with partners. In today’s digitally-enabled world, technology integration is one of the best ways to provide seamless service to customers.
Utilizing technology will also be necessary to provide efficient and timely service to customers. By implementing straight-through processing for the buy, service and claim journey of customers, downtime is minimized and customers enjoy faster service. Several platforms developed in 2020 fall under this category, with the launch of Facebook Messenger (Aya for AIA Philippines and Bessie for BPI AIA) and Viber-based chatbots; Coffee Closing, where customers can avail of their policy within 20 minutes; and eClaims, where customers can easily file a claim by lodging it through the AIA Philippines and BPI AIA websites. “With the pandemic limiting much of the traditional channels by which our customers can reach us (like our Customer Service Center), we had to change gears quickly and adapt,” says Geegee Lopez, AIA Philippines Chief Operations Officer. “These innovations were all developed and launched last year, in response to what would best serve our customers. We remain focused on our customers, putting them at the heart of all that we do: for easier, safer, any time support and access, keen to deliver on our promise to be there for them when they need us the most,” she adds.
As customers are at the heart of the business, keeping pace with their needs remain a priority. This gives rise to agility being part of AIA Philippines’ way of life. It is not just a buzz word—it is slowly becoming a part of the Company’s culture. “The agile way of doing things allows us to fail fast and learn fast. Gone are the days when the waterfall approach ensures proper checks and balances. This time we are able to make smarter and faster decisions, within acceptable risk levels,” shares Mendoza.
Enabling People through Digital Innovations
On the people front, technology will also play a major role in supporting AIA Philippines and its people—both employees and partners—to enable them to work faster and deliver better results.
Concerns about technology replacing the traditional sales model via Financial Advisors and Bank Sales Executives have been raised, as platforms selling insurance products have become available these past few years. To address this, Ang notes, “Technology will just be the enabler of our partners and our people. We have no intention of displacing them as they are important channels by which we serve our customers. We will be providing them with the tools they need to deliver the best service to our customers.”
Aside from sales tools, AIA Philippines Financial Advisors and BPI AIA Bank Sales Executives will be able to provide personalized offerings based on data that are relevant to customers, driving greater engagement and needs-based selling.
While its digital transformation began several years ago, it took the pandemic for AIA Philippines to fully embrace this direction. “Crisis presents both danger and opportunity, and I prefer to focus on the latter. The pandemic has slowed things down and we will use this period to prepare for recovery. While it’s been a challenge, our people have shown resilience and the willingness to adapt. I’d like to think that it’s also because the pandemic has made all of us realize the importance of our mission to protect Filipino families, and the relevance of our Purpose to help them live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives,” affirms Ang.
Click here for more information about AIA Philippines, or visit the AIA Philippines Facebook page, email customerservice.ph@aia.com, or call (02) 8528-2000.