During a recent interview with CGTN at the CICPE, I discussed AXA Tianping’s unique prospects as a foreign enterprise in China, emphasizing AXA’s longstanding commitment and confidence in the development potential of the Chinese market. In response to the rise of strong domestic Chinese insurance companies, we should continue to play on our strengths, strengthen cooperative partnerships and realize mutually beneficial relationships.
Interview with Economic View by China News Service
During CICPE, I also interviewed with China News Service and demonstrated the fantastic results of our high-quality and diverse Era 3.0 transformation. I also talked about this year as our first year in ESG, in which we’ve incorporated ESG concepts into our entire infrastructure including in our daily management and business operations. Lastly, I spoke on the speedy development and future directions of our new innovative businesses including new energy vehicle insurance.
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.
This month we will introduce two Customer First Stars – Chen Jiao from Chengdu Call Center and Sophia Zhang, Broker Sales Manager of AXA Global Healthcare China.
Chen Jiao has joined AXA for 6 years and works in the Chengdu Electric Service Center’s customer service. She is conscientious and responsible in her work, emphasizing customer first in the customer service guideline. She even worked overtime to serve customers during major events such as the Henan floods regardless of the hardships. Since joining the company, Chen Jiao has achieved excellent results in her appraisals and has been ranked in the top three of the Electric Service Center. In 2021, she served 16,666 customers, ranking first in terms of reception volume, and received many compliments from her customers. In the team, she actively cooperates with the company’s development pace. She is also a part of the health insurance development team on its transformation work.
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star Award?
Chen: I express my sincere gratitude to my leaders and colleagues for their love and support. I think customer service work is the most ordinary one among thousands of jobs. Receiving the AXA Star recognizes my dedication and performance to the greatest extent, and I will continue to work harder in 2022.
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Chen: Reading all kinds of books, mainly novels.
Watching funny live streaming to forget about worries.
Follow fitness videos for workout to stay healthy.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Chen: “Go Go Squid!”, who does not like romantic dramas?
Sophie Zhang has been with AXA for over 5 years. As a Broker Sales Manager of AXA Global Healthcare China, every year she serves more than 1,200 group members. In H1 2021, she exceeded her sales target with 109% YoY growth, bringing in RMB10.46 million in premium, including 2.54 million worth of new group business. Clients regard Sophie as a professional in medical insurance and ask for her advice.
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star Award?
Zhang: It is an honor to receive this title. Thank you for the support and encouragement from my leaders and colleagues, this award gives me a greater sense of belonging and responsibility to AXA. As a part of AXA, this honor recognizes my work in the past six years and motivates me to work harder to live up this title. I am determined to keep moving forward like I always do.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Zhang: I like the Notre Dame musical, especially the 1998 version. When I saw the live performance in Shanghai before, the actors were singing the opening chorus with the audience. It was an exciting and emotional moment, and I believe the classics will always remain.
From July 28 to 29, the 11th CFS Finance Summit and the 2nd Sustainable Business Conference were held in Beijing with the theme of “Activating the Surge of Energy for High Quality Development”.
After the jury’s nomination and selection, AXA Tianping was awarded the “2022 Outstanding Brand Image Award” for its quality products and services. It has a well-earned reputation of professional excellence among the clients due to its continuous improvement on brand equity.
Established in 2012, China Finance Summit is one of the most influential events in China’s economic field. It is initiated by syobserve.com and co-organized by more than 50 media outlets including China Internet Information Center and China Daily. The summit attracts thousands of business leaders every year and aims at leading changes in the industry and society through developing innovative business forces and corporate models. Having gone through ten years of development, the “Outstanding Brand Image Award” is now recognized as a representative and comprehensive award in the country.
New energy practical training visit, Foshan Branch
青岛分公司新能源理赔技术交流会
New energy claims technical exchange meeting, Qingdao Branch
山东分公司动力电池拆检学习
Automotive battery disassembly and inspection teach-in, Shandong Branch
上海作业中心专家实操学习
Expert teach-in session, Shanghai Operation Center
重庆分公司新能源知识沙龙会
New energy knowledge seminar, Chongqing Branch
阳勇一行调研新能源三电维修
New energy three power systems maintenance field trip led by Yang Yong
张力波一行开展新能源维修学习
New energy maintenance field trip led by Zhang Libo
AXA has started the 3.0 Era centered around “Diversified Products, Quality Control, Sustainable Growth”. in 2022. Cost control has always been the key in our work. We focus on introducing new energy auto insurance strategies, promoting technical learning in the claims and customer service centers, strengthening the foundation of claims, and supporting the company’s business development.
The Claims Management Department formulated the “New Energy Vehicle Claims Knowledge Learning Plan”, which received positive responds from every center’s Claims and CS department. With regular new energy vehicle theoretical knowledge and maintenance technology learning, our energy learning transformation work has already commenced.
Chief Claims and CS officer Yang Yong personally led the team in June for study and research, they visited the Chengdu Jiuyun Three Power Systems Repair Center with Chengdu operation center’s claims colleagues. In July, the Claims Management Department and Shanghai Operation Center visited the Shanghai Huadu Global Automotive Technology Development Co. for new energy practice training. Claims and CS Departments have also expanded the new energy repair network. To train the claim colleagues to carry out maintenance observation and pick up hands-on learning skills, they remain active contact with the new energy special repair stations and new energy three power systems repair centers.
Apart from learning and training for all staff, the Claims Department also carried out new energy specialized design work including loss reduction leverage, exclusive customer service, process optimization, and construction of system and network. Through one team, two initiatives, three services, four processes, and five foundations, they can enhance the capability of new energy claims and provide support for the company’s business development.
（供中国大陆区以外同事观看,For AXA colleagues outside mainland China)
CEO Message
Dear AXA colleagues,
The 2nd China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) was successfully held in July despite the challenges of the epidemic. We are delighted to showcase AXA to the world at the French pavilion. We are fortunate to be part of this event because it was a precious opportunity for us to cooperate strategically with the Hainan government and partners like Willis Towers Watson. We also exchanged ideas on sustainable development with knowledgeable and international organizations such as Business France and World Bank, making the Hainan trip much more eventful and meaningful.
This event marks the beginning of the new era of ESG for AXA China. Green transformation not only brings wonderful opportunities for the company’s future business development, but it also relates to the fate and well-being of all mankind. Promoting the advantages of AXA’s global advanced technology and experience to the domestic market, leading the financial industry to address climate change through insurance + technology + scene, helping China to achieve sustainable development, and achieving dual carbon goals are the topics our entire company need to study and think about.
We will continue to look ahead and make effort to implement AXA’s ESG initiatives and objectives. While achieving our brand commitment of “safeguarding lives to improve human progress”, we will introduce ESG initiatives in China step by step. Through reading this issue of our monthly newsletter, we hope you can gain a better understanding our ESG initiatives and progresses.
I am pleased to see you all at the staff meeting at the beginning of August. We reviewed the important progress we made in the 3.0 transformation era in the past six months, which is characterized by Diversified Products, Quality Control, Sustainable Growth”. Despite impact of epidemic, and for the first time in several years we achieved positive net profit under Local GAAP. More importantly, we are making steady progress in institutional transformation with excellent results! This is the result of our collective effort, which deserves a round of applause for ourselves.
In the second half of this year, I hope we can continue our success through maintaining the momentum of turning losses into profits. While we need to strengthen the construction of “compliance culture”, we have to maintain a good general and branch linkage to support the transformation development. We have already climbed a small peak in the unusual first half of the year, let’s work together and continue to climb another peak!
AXA Tianping entered the 3.0 Era centered around “Diversified Products, Quality Control, Sustainable Growth”. The new strategic mission raises the demands on talent cultivation and competency building, which is also a challenge and transformation needs for each manager.
Adhering to Human Resources’ learning & developmental concept “work together, learn together, grow together”, the “Leaders, learn together” learning journey is launched, targeting at branch middle level leaders, help participants develop competency and uplift management skills through directional pushing online courses as well as online experience sessions. The “Leaders, learn together” journey has three features: 1) leadership modules with solid knowledge; 2) It is not only an online learning experience but also a practice sharing platform; 3) Link to branch real cases, leaders can email their leadership problem or cases to solve together.
The 1st experience session of “Leaders, learn together” wrapped up on Jul 21st, with a great success. 29 business leaders from 20 branches joined the session and discussed the real issues encountered at work, based upon what they have learnt from online courses and their own experiences. EVPZhou Liancheng was invited to join the session and gave an opening speech, talking about leadership and encouraging leaders to improve self.
The session used a new tool of teams to facilitate, which broke location limitations. The cross-branch group discussion also encouraged leaders’ active communication to learn and provide platform for cross branch best practices sharing. Positive feedbacks were received from participants, such as “The session can help me know peers from other branches which build up a good foundation for future cooperation”, “The session is well organized which can make discussion more efficient and value added”.
Human Resources Team will continuously support every employee’s growth. Together with the company, we are united towards a successful transformation.
As part of AXA Tianping’s Soar to Success strategy, we strive to catch up with all staff regularly and share our latest business performance and transformation process. On 10 August, we held the half-year townhall meeting at Ruiming headquarter office convening the management team, Ruiming colleagues, with branches and call centres joining online.
Kicking off the townhall meeting, I shared the remarkable progress we have made in terms of business growth, operation and institutional transformation in H1, while also setting our goals for H2, ranging from business development, regulatory compliance, to efficiency improvement and organizational culture. I also took the chance to show the Group’s solid performance globally.
Joining from the Zhejiang Branch virtually, CFO Laurent Matras talked about the business lines’ strong growth momentum in the first half of the year and laid out the goals for H2.
EVP Liancheng Zhou,spoke about the branches’ transformation achievements. He introduced Tang Naiqiu and Tian Lei, General Manager of Beijing branch and Qingdao branch, who shared their experience in implementing the translation locally.
Zhou Haoming, Country Manager of AXA XL China, introduced himself at the townhall and walked us through AXA XL’s business and its China strategy. He will be working closely with the General Insurance team in China.
Shaw Zeng, Chief Commercial Officer, showed us highlights of the commercial insurance business in the first half of the year and the work plan for H2.
Richard Qiu, Chef Risk Management and Legal Compliance Officer, discussed the internal control and compliance work in the transformation process and the upcoming targets.
Eva Huang, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, presented AXA’s latest development and achievements at the 2nd CICPE.
（供中国大陆区以外同事观看,For AXA colleagues outside mainland China)
The 2nd China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) has successfully been held from July 25 – 30 with the theme “Share open opportunities, Co-create a better life”. AXA participated in the French Pavilion as one of the important representative enterprises of France, the guest-of honour country this year. The team and I are delighted to represent AXA in this event in Hainan, and to show the company’s latest ESG developments while promoting financial innovation.
On the opening day of the 26th, French Ambassador Laurent Bili and Hainan Province Vice Governor Ni Qiang visited the French pavilion. I also received interviews from several media, including CGTN and China News Agnecy, to showcase AXA to the world! We took this fantastic opportunity to pay visits to government departments and met with brilliant minds in the industry.
On the afternoon of the 27th, we also successfully held the AXA Climate Academy Forum at the French Pavilion, and signed a cooperation framework agreement with leading global advisory, broking and solutions company Willers Towers Watson in the presence of Mr. Ji Guohui, Deputy Director of Hainan IEDB, and Mr. Xavier Chatte-Ruols, Deputy Director of Business Francehai. Aligned with AXA Group’s initiatives to address climate change in Europe last year, the cooperation aims to put sustainable finance, climate resilience, and climate adaptation into practice in China and support Chinese companies’ climate and ESG transformation through insurance, consulting and training services. During the event, an AXA Climate representative donated the Chinese version of “AXA Climate Academy” teaching materials to the Hainan Provincial Government and local universities, helping to raise public awareness of environmental protection and jointly promote sustainable economic and social development.
During CICPE, Shen Danyang, Executive Vice Governor of Hainan Province, met with AXA Tianping’s management. Representatives of Hainan Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce, Hainan Provincial Department of Finance, Hainan Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration Bureau and other relevant departments also attended the meeting. We signed an MoU with Hainan International Economic Development Bureau (IEDB) for future cooperation.
This expo is a prime opportunity for us to further ramp up AXA’s ESG initiatives in China, and to fulfil our brand purpose of “act for human progress by protecting what matters”. Not only have we demonstrated AXA’s sincerity and prioritization towards ESG and a green future, but we also kickstarted a new chapter of AXA’s sustainable development in China!
AXA Climate Academy Painting Competition came to an end earlier. Tao LIU from Chongqing Branch has won the first prize for Best Climate Painting. Other submissions are also definitely worth checking out. We firmly believe AXA Climate Academy is just the beginning of our green journey and we cannot wait to see what’s ahead of us!
I was truly impressed by all the superb works and would like to share with all of you the winners’ paintings and some other representative work.
We are already halfway into 2022, and our strategies for the year have begun to bear fruit and show progress. Since the introduction of the AXA 3.0 strategy at the beginning of the year, all the organizations and teams have worked together to advance this transformation anchored in “diversified products, quality control, and sustainable development”, and steadily implemented the transformation measures.
With the tremendous efforts of our professional team, we have achieved a lot in our transformation to a multi-liner insurer with diversified motor and non-motor businesses. In the first half of the year, our health insurance business has established a great reputation in the industry, especially in the field of UMC. We have been recognized by our partners for our excellent products, claims settlement, and quality services. Our commercial insurance business also has a strong year, securing a number of major clients and projects thanks to all of your persistent efforts. Our outstanding results have received industry recognition.
This month, we received the “Customer Service Initiative of the Year – China award” in the Insurance Asia Awards 2022, in recognition of our efforts in serving our customers and the wider society, especially during the Henan floods last year. This marks the third consecutive year of recognition by the Award. In terms of branding, AXA Tianping won the Hainuo Award – 2022 (Industry) Leading Brand Awardfor our leading position in the insurance industry, brand image and extensive social influence. In addition, our Foshan branch was awarded the Financial Development Innovation Grade A Team Award from the Chancheng District Government of Foshan City, once more highlighting AXA’s insurance service quality. With the concerted efforts of our team, our achievements in the past six months are undeniable. Everyone deserves a round applause for yourselves and your colleagues!
At the same time, in June, we launched the AXA Group’s “ AXA Week for Good“ global campaign in China, demonstrating our firm commitment to corporate social responsibility and the Group’s ESG approach. Our HQ and branches joined together online and offline and invited family, friends and members of the public to play their part in protecting the environment and caring for the society. We also wrote post cards to the children at the “Aiyou • AXA Playroom” to express our solidarity and warm regards. On a separate note, the AXA Climate Academy Course Challenge wrapped up with great success. I am very pleased to see that more than 99% of colleagues have completed the courses, becoming AXA’s climate ambassadors to help protect the environment! The Painting Competition was also well received and we found many talented friends and children amongst. Join us in appreciating their lovely artworks in this issue and I hope you enjoy reading the rest of stories in this latest issue!
