Customers of Manulife Hong Kong can now discuss and purchase insurance products with its agents through a secure video chat sales platform, removing the need to meet an agent in person.
In a statement, the insurer said that its newly-launched “virtual face-to-face” agency sales platform will be available for all its individual insurance products in Hong Kong, except investment-linked assurance schemes, and that the sales process requires no physical meeting or wet-ink signature.
The platform was developed following the Insurance Authority’s (IA) announcement encouraging insurers to provide temporary facilitative measures that allow consumers to purchase certain insurance products without attending a physical meeting in person with an agent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was approved by the IA through the Insurtech Sandbox programme, which provides a testing ground for new technology to be applied in business operations.
“We’ve continued to see strong demand for insurance products as people become more health-conscious and think of their protection needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Damien Green, chief executive officer of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau. “The recent facilitative measures and Insurtech Sandbox from the Insurance Authority have created a prime opportunity for us to do the right thing for customers, breaking the short-term constraint on face-to-face meetings with a new insurtech solution. It has the potential to become a meaningful alternative to traditional in-person face-to-face meetings, for customers who want choices and greater ease and convenience.”
