MSIG seeks to expand retail insurance business

INSURANCE firm MSIG is beefing up its consumer business in Singapore, even as it seeks to expand its commercial book of business.

A major plank in its efforts is the recently announced 15-year bancassurance partnership with HSBC, under which MSIG Singapore will distribute its commercial and personal range of insurance products to HSBC customers on an exclusive basis.

In the travel segment, it has tied up with budget airline Scoot and Klook, an online platform for travel and leisure experiences in the Asia-Pacific.

Mack Eng, MSIG Singapore chief executive, said the company aims to shift the composition of its business from a mix of 70 per cent commercial and 30 per cent retail, to a 50-50 balance. “We are poised to grow our bancassurance and retail portfolio in the next few years.”

He added: “I don’t think it’s going to be just HSBC which will take us to a more balanced level. It will be HSBC plus a few other core partners… Over the next five years, we hope to move to a level where we’re not overly exposed to a particular line of business, where the (sector’s) volatility could affect our bottom line.”

In 2022, the company’s travel business exploded with growth of around 40 times compared to 2021, and surpassed its pre-Covid volume in 2019.

Post-Covid, consumers have become much more aware of the value of travel insurance, he said. “Hospitalisation and medical bills overseas could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s definitely worth purchasing.’’

Based on General Insurance Association data, MSIG Singapore is ranked among the top five of about 40 general insurers, based on gross written premiums. It claims to be the largest in cargo insurance and the second largest in employer’s liability, marine hull and personal accident insurance.

In Asia, MSIG says it is the leading provider of general insurance based on gross written premiums, with a presence in 18 markets. It also claims to have the “majority’‘ share of Asia’s bancassurance market.

Travel insurance, while ubiquitous and commoditised, is shaping up to be an area of growth. Last year, MSIG said it would underwrite Scoot’s travel insurance, Scootsurance, for departures from Singapore and Vietnam.

A study by Insuretech Ancileo, in partnership with MSIG, found that travellers in Singapore are most motivated by price; 35 per cent of respondents indicated they were open to purchasing in-path travel insurance, which is coverage that is embedded or integrated with an airline’s offering.

MSIG is also working with Klook to offer TravelCare, an add-on product, when Singapore-based customers book travel activities and services on Klook’s mobile app and website.

For businesses, MSIG is focused on solutions for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients. For instance, it rolled out a regional programme for companies with overseas operations. “We’re finding a spot where companies are large enough to expand overseas, but not large enough to warrant a formalised global programme.”

For one client with a presence in 156 locations, it issued a “digital master policy” within three days, covering property and business-interruption risks. Eng said: “We have the breadth of solutions. We like to see ourselves as a one-stop shop for some commercial clients who look for a level of sophistication in terms of coverage.”

MSIG also plans to roll out a platform for business clients to help assess their cyber vulnerabilities, which it hopes would lead to purchase of cyber cover.

The firm is currently testing the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for customer enquiries for travel and domestic helper insurance, which is expected to reduce talk time and raise productivity.

Separately, MSIG Singapore recently clinched the Claim Initiative of the Year award at the Insurance Asia Awards 2023, for its use of AI as a tool to combat motor insurance fraud in Singapore. It partnered Fermion, a provider of software-as-a-service solutions, to pioneer the use of TrueSight Fraud Intelligence, which embeds AI into the claims process.

The tool is expected to automate at least half of screening checks, freeing up staff to focus on higher-value work such as the processing of more complex claims.