AIG 2006 Annual Report Download - page 32

30 AIG 2006 Annual Report
Malaysia, where AIA is one of the leading life insurers, the company
piloted and will roll out a marketing program to gain access to the
middle income market. AIA Malaysia and AIA Thailand both
implemented plans to significantly increase production through direct
marketing. AIA Korea launched a “hybrid” division combining
agency and telemarketing channels, and AIA Vietnam expanded
bancassurance relationships.
Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited, our joint venture in
India and one of India’s leading private insurers, positioned itself
further to serve the country’s emerging middle class through a distri-
bution network that includes 78 offices in 55 cities, some 28,000
individual agents, six bancassurance partners, 110 corporate agents
and 100 brokers.
Among other major developments in the region, AIA, the leading
foreign life insurer in China, has undertaken significant expansion.
It received regulatory approval in 2006 for provincial expansion in
Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, two of the top three China
provinces with the highest GDP rates in 2005. AIA was also granted
approval to conduct group insurance business throughout its China
operations, enabling it to meet an increasing demand for these serv-
ices in a rapidly growing economy.
American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) is one of the world’s
largest international insurance companies. Its results in 2006
were driven by an ongoing strategy that combines initiatives to grow
premium revenue—including diversifying distribution channels,
energizing the agency force and developing new products— with
measures to control expenses.
ALICO’s largest operation is in Japan, where it is a leader in
bancassurance annuity sales and mass marketing. Last year, ALICO
Japan achieved higher profits and increased total assets under
challenging conditions. Growth in operating income for 2006 was
Foreign Life Insurance & Retirement Services
American International Assurance Company (AIA),which cele-
brated its 75th anniversary last year,is the life insurance leader in
Southeast Asia. The AIA brand engenders consumer loyalty,as evi-
denced by the Reader’s Digest Asia “Trusted Brands 2006” awards
granted to AIA operations in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand, as well as for Asia as a whole. In 2006, AIA implemented
strategies to increase recruitment and productivity; grow sales of
investment-linked and accident and health products; develop alter-
native distribution channels; and tap new markets.
AIA continued its agency expansion throughout the region to
ensure sustainable growth in its core agency distribution channel.
It also initiated changes to enhance the productivity of its agency
force, while maintaining a focus on meeting the changing needs
of its customers.
In 2006, AIA enhanced and expanded its comprehensive suite of
products. AIA Vietnam continued expanding its product portfolio by
developing accident and health products. Ranking number one in
Thailand for in-force and new business premium, AIA started selling
with good results an equity-linked structured note product, the first
of its kind in the market. In another industry first, AIA Korea launched
a fixed-income product with an automatic withdrawal feature to help
overcome price and crediting interest rate competition.
Last year, AIA made significant progress tapping into new
markets. AIA Singapore, the country’s largest life insurer in terms of
total premium, utilized multiple distribution channels to target
high-net-worth individuals. AIA Singapore also teamed up with one
of the largest local financial institutions to market the full range of
AIA’s products to its customers. Complementing its agency force, AIA
focused on developing several alternative distribution channels. In
Serving millions of customers around the
world, AIG’s growing Life Insurance &
Retirement Services businesses constitute the
industry’s most extensive network.
Life Insurance & Retirement Services
Tata AIG Life positioned itself further to serve the middle class through a broad
distribution channel that includes some 28,000 individual agents. Pictured in
Hyderabad, these top Tata AIG Life producers took part in a recent AIG India country
meeting where they were honored for their outstanding achievement and success.