AXA Philippines Renews Licenses to Operate Its Life and General Insurance Businesses

The Insurance Commission (IC) recently renewed the business licenses of AXA Philippines, one of the leading insurance companies in the country, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Charter Ping An Insurance Corp. The renewal signifies that AXA Philippines’ life and general insurance businesses are in good standing with the IC and that the companies can continue offering their superior life and general insurance products to their customers, thereby helping them to live better and more empowered lives. Photo shows AXA Philippines chief customer officer, Amor Balagtas with insurance commissioner Hon. Dennis Funa.

AXA Philippines and Lockheed Group-Medocare Health Systems Forge agreement

One of the country’s leading insurance companies, AXA Philippines, signed a collaboration agreement with Lockheed Group-Medocare Health Systems, Inc., a unit of the EU Group of Companies that provides managed healthcare services that are affordable and responsive. Through this undertaking, Medocare will provide their customers expanded benefits, powered by AXA’s suite of superior life and non-life insurance products and services, including life insurance and group personal accident insurance. Photo shows AXA chief of commercial business Nicasio F. Rollan III (2nd from left) and Lockheed Group-Medocare chairman and CEO Ret. Col. Esteban B. Uy, Jr. (3rd from left), along with AXA head of commercial distribution Gerard S. Arga (leftmost) and Lockheed Group-Medocare acting president Atty. Dahn Greigor S. Uy (rightmost).

AXA Philippines Posts Record Premium Income Growth

AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance companies, posted a growth in Total Premium Income (TPI) of 22%, ending 2017 with more than P26 billion.

Based on data from the Insurance Commission, AXA Philippines' TPI growth is double the average industry growth of 11%. It also exceeded the combined growth of the top four insurance companies in the Philippines.

“AXA’s impressive growth is very much a result of the continuous expansion of our distribution network across the country and the constant introduction of new solutions to address the evolving needs of our customers,” says Rahul Hora, AXA Philippines CEO. “We beefed up our suite of products to serve very specific markets: launching new ones like MyAmbition, Retire Smart, and Smart Traveller; and improving existing ones like Global Health Access and HealthMax. This year, we expect to ride on this robust growth trajectory as we move towards achieving market leadership.”

Hora also attributes AXA’s success to the company’s commitment towards customer centricity and leveraging on technology to aid its distributors in reaching out to more customers. He says the overall improved economy also contributed to the rise in its 2017 figures.

Its general insurance arm, Charter Ping An, outpaced the market growth rate of 17%, moving up to number three in the rankings from last year’s number four spot. AXA acquired Charter Ping An in 2016 and now offers products such as motor, business, and home protection, becoming the only insurance company in the country’s top five to provide both life and non-life coverage.

In 2017, AXA Philippines introduced MyAmbition, the first single premium variable life plan for young professionals that can be completely availed online; Retire Smart, a regular premium variable life plan intended for disciplined fund build-up paid until retirement date; and Smart Traveller, the travel insurance that offers personal accident and medical coverage plus 24/7 helpline anywhere in the world. It also widened the scope of cover of Global Health Access to include hypertension and high cholesterol, and presented a more convenient way to pay for HealthMax via HealthMax 10-Pay.

AXA entered into a partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to become its official insurance partner in the country. The strategic partnership highlights both companies’ shared principles of teamwork, integrity, courage, and innovation; and allows AXA to reach a broader audience.

In order to empower more people to live the life they choose, AXA also launched its Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) platform in 2017, a service and tool that an AXA financial coach uses to explain to the customer in easy terms why life protection is important, especially in cases of unforeseen setbacks and emergencies.

AXA Philippines is a joint venture of Paris-based AXA Group and Metrobank, one of the largest financial conglomerates in the country. To date, it has around 4,000 financial advisors serving one million customers nationwide.

AXA PH Expects Digital Innovations to Drive Growth

Keeping up with the digital age and adapting to the latest technologies is a major part of the growth strategy of AXA Philippines, one of the leading insurance companies in the country.

This was revealed by Denis Duverne, AXA Group chairman, during his recent visit to the Philippines.  “We do use new technologies in all parts of our businesses,” Duverne says. He adds that the Philippine entity is in fact quite advanced in the use of digital tools, accelerating its strategy to move from being a payer to becoming an encouraging partner.

“We are also constantly forging digital partnerships with new economy companies to help keep us up to date,” Duverne says.

AXA Asia CEO Gordon Watson who was also in town stressed the importance of data in their business. “Insurance is about data, so we use data analysis for better underwriting and to better respond to our customers,” Watson says.

“Our aim is to innovate our business model,” says AXA Philippines president and CEO Rahul Hora, “This is to enable our distributors to be better, by providing them tools, such as calculators for their tablets or laptops, which results in better quality transactions with their prospects.”

AXA is proud to have its e-Financial Needs Analysis platform that helps customers learn about their insurance protection gaps in relation to their financial goals so they can act accordingly. A ‘light’ version through the chat bot “Coach Finn” can also be accessed on the AXA website.

Other innovative solutions that AXA has rolled out in country include MyAmbition, an affordable investment and life insurance plan that was the first in the country to be made available online, powered by their proprietary e-commerce platform AXA Ion. Its travel insurance Smart Traveller is also available for purchase online.

For health plan holders, a medical teleconsultation service is made available to them. It enables customers to schedule and have a virtual medical checkup with a doctor over the phone for simple health concerns.

Auto security policyholders also benefit from the AXA Assist app’s red button emergency feature, which at one tap can respond to the caller’s roadside needs.

With further convenience in mind for its customers, AXA has also developed the e-policy. E-policy is an electronic copy of their customers’ insurance policy that they can print, save on their personal storage, and even e-mail to their beneficiaries.

MyAXA app for desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile gives customers the power to check their account value, remember due dates, pay for their premiums, or contact their adviser right from their device.

For more information, visit www.axa.com.ph.