The chief executive officer of Allianz in Malaysia said that he is confident in the insurer’s ability to handle the pressure from claims and costs associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zakri Khir, CEO of Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia), told the New Straits Times in Kuala Lumpur that the firm is “well-capitalised” to absorb the costs connected to the pandemic and will continue to focus on improving agent capability, enhancing its product offerings, and simplifying business processes throughout the year.
“We are going with the flow,” Khir told New Straits Times. “So far, our asset until May is still good. We are still above our sales of last year, which is good news.”
While admitting that the pandemic “has spared no-one” and is a “wake-up call to businesses across all industries to focus on survival and sustainability,” Khir said he was confident that the insurer will “still be around three years from now.”
Khir also emphasised the key role of agents in driving the firm’s success, saying that he believes that “most people prefer to buy insurance from agents rather than online.”
“This is because there is no possibility that the websites will provide answers to every person's questions,” Khir told New Straits Times. “The group wants to become a simple, digital, and scalable organisation that is fully customer-centric, as part of our agenda. Thus, we believe agents are still the key for every particular process.”
