The Covid-19 pandemic is prompting high net worth individuals in Asia, who largely lack legacy and succession plans, to pay a closer look at insurance, Transamerica Life Bermuda's head of proposition development and advanced marketing told finews.asia.
«Preferences have changed because of the pandemic. HNWIs have more awareness of health, safety, protection,» Brandon Caneer said in a discussion with finews.asia about the current trends in the HNW market and the opportunities that have emerged in the life insurance industry amidst the global pandemic.
«They are trying to create more certainty wherever they can, and are trying to look out for themselves better. And this plays quite nicely into the increased interest towards insurance and protection,» Caneer said, noting the cash flow for businesses, limited travel and an unpredictable investment environment as the biggest challenges HNWIs are currently facing.
Based in Hong Kong, Caneer, who has spent more than three decades in the industry, joined TLB in 2019. He leads the management of all products – product development, enhancements and product redesign – across the firm's Hong Kong, Singapore and Bermuda offices, and also oversees the development of new advanced marketing concepts, content, tools and training assets to support sales effectiveness and to differentiate TLB in the HNW market.
Growing Product Suite
Amid the pandemic, TLB has taken a concerted effort to strengthen its product suite and further equip its partners, financial professionals and HNW customers, Caneer said.
The firm's new universal life plan, Wealthassure Universal Life, whose design was prompted by the challenges HNWs have faced this year, is aimed at maximizing their wealth protection while strengthening legacy and retirement planning.
«HHW wealth is typically tied up in illiquid assets like businesses or real estate. Wealthassure was really designed to address what we saw as a gap in the market for an insurance-based savings vehicle with a high degree of flexibility to deal with serious liquidity challenges,» Caneer said.
Becoming More Agile
The firm has been adapting its operations to become more flexible and using technology to better reach its partners and clients. «Turning what has typically been a face-to-face business more virtual is a sea change in this industry – you're dealing with sensitive issues and large sums of money, but the key thing is to work with HNWIs the way they prefer.»
In August TLB published with Hubbis a «Guide to HNW Life Insurance» – a handbook for financial advisors, brokers and wealth managers to help them understand the key dimensions of HNW life insurance and how to apply it in practice. The guide was published under TLB's «Mastering High Net Worth» program that aims to equip financial advisors with knowledge, skills, as well as ideas and inspiration to grow their business.
«Asia is one of the fastest-growing wealth regions in the world, and we're really positive about the long-term prospects for our business in this part of the world,» Caneer said.
