（供中国大陆区以外同事观看,For AXA colleagues outside mainland China)
This February was memorable because of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. We also created our tailored campaign for the Olympics with AXA Confident Family commercials to reinforce our brand proposition: “protecting your passion and moving forward with confidence”.
You will find World Ski Champion Nina LI’s endorsement in the stories helping to uplift our brand image, followed by three ordinary families sharing their skiing experience and bringing authenticity to the campaign.
The four-week multi-faceted campaign consists of the combination of sales posters, videos, and social posts to elaborate the protection and confidence that our brand brings to people’s life and health.
Please click the links to watch the stories of those families’ skiing experience.
As the world’s annual environmental campaign that brings attention to the effects of climate change, Earth Hour, organized by WWF, provides an opportunity for millions of people all around the world to take part and show their support in the fight against climate change. On this year’s Earth Hour occasion, we invited you to join with people across the world to turn off unnecessary electronic devices at 8.30 pm on 26 March, to celebrate this one holy hour together with our one and only earth, making a substantial difference in energy consumption and helping reduce the effect of global warming on this planet.
However, this one special hour, should only be the start instead of the end point of our efforts in protecting our planet, especially in the Dual Carbon Era, a time that requests all of us to be even more conscious when it comes to climate protection. As a matter of fact, it is in our company’s DNA to address our impact on the environment and society for a safe, ethical and sustainable development as we protect what matters, which is also reflected through the comprehensive ESG implementation within our company that has been previously announced. By taking Environmental factors, Social factors and Governance into consideration when measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of our business, we are giving a voice on the planet’s future and working together to create a sustainable, low carbon future for our earth!
First off, I would like to share a thrilling news with you all. We have outperformed against our goals in the Rosy Start project for the first quarter! The premium of all insurance products reached RMB 1.24 billion, a YOY increase of 22.7%. Under severe market pressure, motor insurance premiums increased by 9.5%; health insurance premiums reached 104 million with a YOY growth of more than 2.5 times; commercial insurance doubled to 63 million; retail insurance reached 106 million yuan with a rise of 65%. We wouldn’t have achieved these results without your concerted efforts guided by the ONE AXA spirit. I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to all of you and I’m confident we can achieve the annual goals and continue the momentum!
This spring, the resurgence of coronavirus infections has hit many cities in China, especially in the financial center Shanghai. While working from home to ensure the business continuity, our Shanghai colleagues all have to make great efforts a maintain a normal life. Please take precautions for the virus and protect yourself and your families’ health and safety through the tough times.
Since the very beginning of this flare-up, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of our teams. With the support of all lines and crisis management team, we have been monitoring the evolution of the outbreak and adapting our response through working from home, daily pandemic updates, health check, as well as mental health hotline and lectures to safeguard employees’ physical and mental health. We are also sourcing food and basic supplies and hope to deliver to our colleagues soon.
I have been truly impressed by the way the crisis has been and is being handled by our teams. Two of our IT colleagues – HOU Feng and XU Jinqiu offered to stay at Jinqiao office to maintain system performance and continuity during the lockdown, and colleagues from Claims, Operation, Finance, CEO Office, Distribution and Shanghai operation center have volunteered in the city’s ongoing fight against the virus, living the AXA spirit. I would like to thank each and every one of you for the professionalism and dedication you are showing to protecting what matters most.
In March, we also promote the diversity & inclusion and ESG initiatives through IWD and Earth Hour campaigns, as well as product R&D, channel innovation, compliance construction and brand communication. We received enormous support and professional guidance from Asia and Africa Market, and also learned from our peers. Since this newsletter, we will embed with the link of AAMO Monthly newsletter, and you are welcome to learn about the dynamics in time.
Thousands of flowers and hopes come out for the banquet of spring season, take care of your health and look forward to returning to normal as soon as possible.
First off, I would like to share a thrilling news with you all. We have outperformed against our goals in the Rosy Start project for the first quarter! The premium of all insurance products reached RMB 1.24 billion, a YOY increase of 22.7%. Under severe market pressure, motor insurance premiums increased by 9.5%; health insurance premiums reached 104 million with a YOY growth of more than 2.5 times; commercial insurance doubled to 63 million; retail insurance reached 106 million yuan with a rise of 65%. We wouldn’t have achieved these results without your concerted efforts guided by the ONE AXA spirit. I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to all of you and I’m confident we can achieve the annual goals and continue the momentum!
This spring, the resurgence of coronavirus infections has hit many cities in China, especially in the financial center Shanghai. While working from home to ensure the business continuity, our Shanghai colleagues all have to make great efforts a maintain a normal life. Please take precautions for the virus and protect yourself and your families’ health and safety through the tough times.
Since the very beginning of this flare-up, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of our teams. With the support of all lines and crisis management team, we have been monitoring the evolution of the outbreak and adapting our response through working from home, daily pandemic updates, health check, as well as mental health hotline and lectures to safeguard employees’ physical and mental health. We are also sourcing food and basic supplies and hope to deliver to our colleagues soon.
I have been truly impressed by the way the crisis has been and is being handled by our teams. Two of our IT colleagues – HOU Feng and XU Jinqiu offered to stay at Jinqiao office to maintain system performance and continuity during the lockdown, and colleagues from Claims, Operation, Finance, CEO Office, Distribution and Shanghai operation center have volunteered in the city’s ongoing fight against the virus, living the AXA spirit. I would like to thank each and every one of you for the professionalism and dedication you are showing to protecting what matters most.
In March, we also promote the diversity & inclusion and ESG initiatives through IWD and Earth Hour campaigns, as well as product R&D, channel innovation, compliance construction and brand communication. We received enormous support and professional guidance from Asia and Africa Market, and also learned from our peers. Since this newsletter, we will embed with the link of AAMO Monthly newsletter, and you are welcome to learn about the dynamics in time.
Thousands of flowers and hopes come out for the banquet of spring season, take care of your health and look forward to returning to normal as soon as possible.
In the AXA Star contest, altogether 22 AXA colleagues from headquarter and branches are entitled to awards of AXA Stars in Transformation, Customer First, Integrity, Courage and One AXA. This special column was set up for them so we can all know their stories in living the AXA values and making their contribution in the company growth.
Transformation Star – Zhang Yigong’s Story:
Zhang Yigong joined AXA Tianping’s claims team since 2010, covering motor injuries, anti-fraud, lifestyle and accident insurance claims. Before diving into insurance industry, he was a surgeon at the staff hospital of China 15thMetallurgical Construction Group for 12 years.
At AXA Tianping, Yigong fully devotes himself to the health business transformation. He has demonstrated his professionalism and excellence in every project he involved, from the insurance donation in early 2020 coronavirus outbreak, innovative health product development, to establish the lifestyle & health claims investigation platform and mechanism in 2021.
Q&A with Yigong：
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star award？
Yigong: I feel very honored to win the AXA Star award! A recognition not only to myself, but also to our claims team. Glories belong to the past. As one team, I’m confident that we will deliver greater growth.
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Yigong: I am a binge-watcher of online cooking videos and learning new techniques and recipes. Food will never disappoint you.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Yigong: Recommending a CCTV program called Economy & Law. It looks at the economic side of people’s daily life and elaborates with real cases. Very insightful!
Courage Star – Liu Dingkang’ Story:
Liu Dingkang had been the sales director of Anhui branch and general manager of Wuhu sub-branch since 2016. He led the Wuhu sub-branch and achieved consecutive profit jump for the past three years. He was ranked number one in 2021 H1 three-tier branch KPI assessment of A cluster.
Through fixing the motor basics, developing health business, targeting right customers and marketing activities, he guided the team to capture local market opportunities, face up to challenges and forge ahead.
Q&A with Liu Dingkang：
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star award？
Dingkang: It was a huge surprise. I appreciate everything the company has provided for me, all the support and inclusion I gained. Winning AXA Star not only is an honor, but also means responsibility. Bearing business development strategies in mind, I will further contribute in more of our success!
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Dingkang: I am obsessed with reading and hiking. I always believe that books bring happiness and sports keep me healthy. In daily life, I tend to be meticulous and keep things tidy as these attributes make me confident.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Dingkang: It’s one of my favorite TV series – Drawing Sword. As the name denotes, it inspires people to have faith and courage to face difficulties.
Shanghai and many cities in China have been facing a new covid outbreak from March. Under this backdrop, state media Xinhua News talked to several foreign financial institutions including AXA Tianping on how we join efforts to protect employees and broader communities amid the challenging times. As shared in the interview, we remain optimistic despite the difficult conditions. Please find more details in the article:
In early March, I was also invited by the business media National Business Daily during the Two Sessions together with business leaders across all industries, to exchange views on future opportunities around innovation, decarbonization and green transformation.
As China implements the “dual carbon” national goal of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, I thereby call for collective efforts from insurers with all industries to achieve sustainable development. Besides the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, climate index insurance and 2023 green investment goal, AXA will soon run its serial climate campaign in China to showcase our determination in fighting climate change. Stay tuned!
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The global theme this year, #BreaktheBias, aims to create a gender equal world and forge women’s equality.
This year, we joined AXA Asia & Africa and launched the #breakthebias social challenge to celebrate the day. Our management team and some of our colleagues published their commitment on social media in support of AXA’s commitment to embracing equity and inclusion.
With concerted efforts, we can all help AXA creating an inclusive work environment and championing gender parity in broader society, essential to our sustainable development in keeping with our key ESG strategies.
This year’s 3·15 Consumer Rights Week centers around the theme of “Promoting Fair Consumption and Digital Finance”. Led by the Customer Service team, we have launched the 315 campaigns across headquarters and branches from March14 to March20 on various online and offline channels.
Our branches promoted lively educational content through digital mediums such as Weibo posts, infographics and animations to expand coverage of the campaign, with the aim to guide consumers in choosing suitable insurance products, and to raise awareness of financial risk prevention. The branches have also posted posters, distributed brochures, and played event posters and videos on in-store screens to disseminate financial knowledge and to enhance the financial literacy of the general public, by improving public awareness and ability to identify and prevent involvement with illegal financial products and activities.
Taking Dalian branch as an example. The branch created a campaign working group in the first place and deployed execution plans for its sub-branch network. They held a special morning meeting on March 11th to make sure our staff are fully aware of regulatory requirements. Our Dalian colleagues were particularly attentive to the needs of the elderly and vulnerable groups, providing them one-on-one service and close online guidance.
While providing consumers with good products and service guarantees, we continuously enhance financial self-protection and risk prevention capabilities of consumers and will continue to do so through publishing consumer insights, educating consumers, optimizing consumer services, helping the elderly and vulnerable groups to cross the digital divide and improving the efficiency of the compensation process, bringing peace-of-mind and warmth to our customers.
（供中国大陆区以外同事观看,For AXA colleagues outside mainland China)
To celebrate the March 8th International Women’s Day with our customers, the product promotion campaign #BloomWithConfidence was rolled out with a social component to encourage women to share their opinion on the sense of women security.
Three medical and accident insurance products are promoted in this campaign:
Signature Inpatient & Outpatient Medical Insurance breaks away from the traditional classification of high-end medical products and institutions and provides differentiated premium pricing.
METOO Individual Accident Insurance covers travel accidents and income loss for women.
Comprehensive Inpatient & Outpatient Medical Insurance (2021) provides unlimited advance payment for hospitalization and flexible budgets.
In the meantime, we’ve also run a social campaign centering the demands in sense of security women of different ages through thematic video and social contents. They were well received and sparked discussions about women’s sense of security on social media.
Motor insurance is the backbone of AXA’s 3.0, which centers around “diversified products, quality control, and sustainable development”. Accounting for the highest percentage of its business, the motor insurance business is crucial to the company’s standing out from its peers and its transformation towards AXA 3.0. On this note, Scott Yin, Chief Pricing Officer & Chief Actuary, shares his vision for the development of our auto insurance business.
The 1+2 Development Model
The motor insurance business will enter a new healthy and sustainable development phase in the 3.0 era. Its development model can be summarized as “1+2”, with 1 representing the top priority of cost optimization, and 2 referring to two key projects—the clientele upgrade project and the new energy vehicle (NEV) insurance project.
2021 was the first year to see motor insurance reforms, which have significantly impacted the entire industry: premiums declined, the combined ratio exceeded 100%, competition intensified, and several small and medium-sized companies gradually scaled down their businesses. Since the motor deregulation, AXA Tianping withstood the pressure from decreased premiums and expanded coverage to continuously navigate the negative impact and ultimately optimize its policy quality. In the 3.0 era, we will continue to optimize policy quality, strengthen the connection between the front and back offices, and strive to achieve the company’s cost KPIs.
On the other hand, the motor insurance development strategy needs to balance short-term and mid-to-long-term needs. We need to allow for effective cost control. We also need to improve various areas such as channel expansion, price management, claims management, product portfolio design, and investing in a more sustainable customer base. Upgrading the customer base means enhancing customer value and leveraging our current resources and experience to increase cross-selling, and lay the foundation for the company’s healthy future growth.
Although uncertainties remain on profitability and fierce competition in the coming year, we must stabilize our motor insurance scale and cement a concrete foundation for our business. With China’s new vehicle penetration rate of new energy vehicles reaching 20% in September last year, we are poised to enter this segment and grasp the growth opportunity.
A Strong Start in 2022
In Q1 2022, our motor insurance business achieved a strong start in terms of sales performance and cost control. We recorded a 9.5% increase in written premiums, which was the highest Q1 growth rate in recent years. At the same time, policy and finance costs were further optimized. Compared to last year, the total annual policy cost was optimized by 3.3% and the total annual financial cost ratio was optimized by 1.2%. Jiangsu (Region A), Shanghai (Region B), and Shandong (Region C) were leading in their respective region in motor insurance cost control and sales performance.
As 2022 marks the second full year under the reform, industry trends are expected to be clearer. Here are our observations:
1. Overall market looks promising and the competition is becoming more rational. The cost pressure will be more significant this year, as the financial indicator pressure gradually appears from declining post-reform premiums. On the other hand, claims standards are set to increase year by year. Therefore, leading companies will be more rational with their competitive strategies, which will help improve the market environment overall; smaller companies will also be forced to consciously implement aggressive strategies given greater cost pressures.
2. The rapid development of the NEV market will become a new growth engine, but it will also increase cost pressure, and as such, the market is expected to maintain a wait-and-see attitude.
3. There are still many uncertainties that will affect the business environment and development plan, for example, natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc.
2022 will also be the year of launching NEV products, and the aforementioned trends also offer the following insights on motor insurance:
1. In a relatively rational market environment, we can build solid foundation, cultivate our existing customer base, and enhance customer value.
2. We have the chance to improve our capabilities internally and develop comprehensive offerings to help with emerging businesses, such as the necessary capabilities for the NEV business.
3. We will be more flexible with our strategy and plans amid uncertainties, while continuously improving and standardizing internal management capabilities. Our goal is to curate the right auto insurance pricing and management model for the Chinese market, which both meets the Group’s management requirements and reflects AXA Tianping’s unique positioning.
New Energy Vehicle Insurance—Faster and Steadier
Globally, sustainability has become a crucial topic. Energy and digital transformation are ushering the automotive industry into the new energy era. In China, these monumental changes present unprecedented opportunities. China’s national strategies have also offered full support to turbocharge the explosive growth. In 2021, China’s ownership of NEV reached 7.84 million, up 59.3% YoY, accounting for around half of global units. According to the Development Plan for the New Energy Vehicle Industry (2021-2035)released by the General Office of the State Council, the share of NEV sales is expected to reach about 20% by 2025. With the green economic policy support, improving technology and infrastructure, further decline in manufacturing costs, and rising consumer demands, NEV ownership is set to continue to grow as the transformation accelerates.
Technology development continues to drive the insurance industry’s evolution. On December 14, the Insurance Association of China released the Exclusive Terms and Conditions for New Energy Vehicle Commercial Insurance (Trial), the long-awaited NEV insurance plan for millions of NEV owners. At AXA Tianping, we have been following the development of new energy vehicles and their related technologies, and we have been studying and exploring how we can better provide customized coverage services for new energy vehicles. In the past few years, AXA Tianping has cooperated with numerous NEV companies. We have fully utilized their resource and technological advantages to explore the construction and improvement of the NEV service ecology.
At the first AXA Tianping Asia-Africa staff meeting recently, CEO of Greater China Sally introduced the New Energy Vehicle Project Team (NEV Project), which shows the all-around importance of this project. It is not only the main growth engine but also represents the future of the business and carries AXA’s vision to excel in the motor insurance industry.
With an extensive regional network and a long history of exploring and accumulating cutting-edge technologies, AXA Tianping is uniquely positioned to capture growth with the support of global resources and pioneering technologies. With the support of AXA Labs and GI Hub, the AXA Tianping NEV Project Team was established to identify strategic business objectives, while developing our capabilities for future development. To coordinate with the multiple departments involved and to ensure everything is progressing smoothly, the project was divided into multiple workflows, including Strategy, Partners, Channels, Underwriting and Pricing, Claims, and Products, among others. All of which were given clear objectives and implementation initiatives.
Through this period of hard work, the project team has been able to obtain valuable industry data, first-hand information, and feedback from the front-line staff. We now have an increasingly clear understanding of market patterns, trends, company capabilities, and key imperatives in the NEV business. At the same time, the team is aware that the project still falls in a relatively high-cost range. Therefore, how we balance cost control and development opportunities is a topic that must be meticulously addressed. The team is cautiously optimistic as it strives to curate a solid business development plan. ——“For NEV business, we must be the first-mover, but also act more consciously and steadily than others,” Scott summarized.
