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BIZ GUEST

One of our key priorities last year was the
well-being of our employees and agents. To
this end, we took early precautionary measures
to protect our people, provided them with a
safe and comfortable environment to do their
job, whether in the office or at home, and
increased benefits for themselves and their
families, among other measures. Such efforts
were recognized by our people, as Generali
Vietnam was listed among the “Top 10 Com-
panies with a Happy Workforce” by Anphabe
in 2020.
In a challenging year due to the pandemic
and natural disasters, we also increased our
support to the community. In addition to our
regular community program supporting under-
privileged children, two new programs - “Sinh I am confident that vate in terms of products and technologies,
Con, Sinh Cha”, a parenting education program, enhance existing distribution networks, explore
and “Sat Canh Ben Mien Trung”, an emergency 2021 will be a year new channels, and really invest in understanding
relief plan for central Vietnam flood victims - when we can do even better customers better and upgrading customer
were launched and were very well received. in terms of serving our services to the next level. I think most insurers
I am confident that 2021 will be a year customers, supporting our understand what is required of them to ensure
when we can do even better in terms of business partners, strength- this strong growth momentum will continue.
serving our customers, supporting our busi- ening our brand and con- Support from the government and policy mak-
ness partners, strengthening our brand and tributing to the community, ers is also very important. Generali has built
contributing to the community, as we continue this into our strategic plan as we aim to stake
to invest strongly in our people, products, as we continue to invest out a strong presence in the market.
technologies and service enhancements. strongly in our people,
products, technologies % What do you believe the government
% Generali Vietnam is among the pioneers and service enhancements. should do to support insurance companies
in investing heavily in information tech- in terms of policies and regulations?
nology and digital transformation. Can you The Vietnamese Government has been
share your experience in and lessons learned taking active steps to promote the sustainable
from your digitalization journey? development of the insurance market. On
We realized early on that as a new company Thirdly, it is difficult enough to create February 28, 2019, the Prime Minister ratified
in Vietnam with a young workforce, digital digital tools and apps and even more difficult a project on restructuring the stock and insur-
transformation could become a key compet- to drive adoption. These tools cannot create ance markets by 2020 with a vision towards
itive advantage if we got it right. Our journey the desired impact or savings unless they are 2025. Under this project, life insurance coverage
began exactly five years ago, and while it has used widely, as intended. Therefore, we need was to be 11 per cent of the population by
been challenging at times, it ultimately proved to have a clear strategy and pay due regard to 2020 and 15 per cent by 2025. This project
to be a very rewarding experience. We’ve this matter. also details a comprehensive set of measures,
learnt a lot over the past few years and I am Finally, a successful digital transformation including stepping up promotional activities
happy to share some of the key lessons here. journey starts with a culture of innovation to raise public understanding about the role,
As a simple rule, what can be done better and entrepreneurship within the organization. meaning and importance of insurance, thereby
by machines or technology should be auto- At Generali, we encourage our people to shifting public perceptions towards insurance
mated or digitalized. This means we may “think big, start small, fail fast, scale quickly”. and driving demand for insurance participation.
have a long list of things to tackle. Projects This is also the approach we have taken We hope that in implementing this project,
that can concurrently benefit multiple user throughout the past few years. the government and regulatory body will
groups (customers, agents and employees) continue to complete the legal framework
should be prioritized. Obviously, those with % Despite the high and stable growth seen and policies, creating a legal corridor that is
the most impact and the least effort and risk in recent years, insurance penetration in favorable for the development of the insurance
should be at the top of the list. We call these Vietnam remains relatively low. What do market, and strengthen promotional activities
“quick wins”. Many projects can take several you think insurance companies should do to encourage insurance participation among
months or even years to complete. So, it is to tap into market potential more effectively? the public, which will also significantly con-
important to divide them into phases so that I think we can be proud of the fact that tribute to the development of the country’s
results can be seen every three or four months. Vietnam’s life insurance industry has grown social security.
This is important, as it helps the project team leaps and bounds over the last 20 years, with In the context of Industry 4.0, insurance
learn and adjust quickly. It also serves as average annual growth of some 20 per cent, companies, including Generali Vietnam, have
motivation for the team and the organization providing peace of mind to approximately 10 been forging ahead with digital transformation
to carry on with the remaining project phases. million Vietnamese families. Compared to across our businesses. We hope the Vietnamese
Secondly, digitalization does not mean tak- the early days, the public’s understanding and Government will continue to invest in upgrad-
ing all offline processes and procedures online. awareness of insurance has changed dramat- ing the country’s information infrastructure,
It is important to rationalize and redesign the ically. Can we do more? I think definitely yes. creating a favorable environment that will
processes, for simplification, risk management My bet is that over the next ten years we facilitate the digital transformation of enter-
and an enhanced user experience. could double this figure if we continue to inno- prises, including insurance businesses. %

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