"BACK to the Future — Empowering East Asian Insurers for 2044 and Beyond." This was the theme of the recent Conference of the East Asian Insurance Congress or EAIC. The conference was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center and attended by over a thousand delegates from countries all over the world. The EAIC, composed of 12 cities from Asia and the Asean region, holds conferences in each city every two years. The last face-to-face conference was held at the Marriot Convention Center Manila in 2018. Hong Kong, the host city this year, made sure that all the events were impressive and enjoyable starting from the Grand Opening and the well-attended Gala Night. A much-awaited event was the performances from the cities, usually with song and dance numbers highlighting their cultures. Our city's performance was one of the most applauded. The conference is also a marketplace where the various players in insurance converge and meet about common issues and topics. It is a good opportunity to look for new businesses and renew old ones. Other global players put up meeting rooms complete with snacks and coffee to signify their presence and availability for business.
But beyond the fun and camaraderie, the program was like a buffet of topics about insurance, products and customers and most importantly, about people. The format of the panel discussions was simple and encouraged the exchange of ideas and expertise among the panelists. Several panels dwelt on the importance of customer centricity and how to constantly improve the business process starting from the selling of the policy of insurance to the handling and payment of claims. An interesting topic was entitled "Confronting the common foe: Rectifying the image and increasing visibility of insurance in the socioeconomic value chain." The panel members said there is still a lot that we can and should do to improve the image of our industry. Buyers of insurance, especially in the business sector, should appreciate that it's their insurance coverage that will eventually bring them back to business after a loss occurs. Hopefully, in the future, the customers will go and buy insurance as if they are buying shoes and clothes! Will insurance be on the grocery list of the housewife?
The topics about manpower or the shortage of talent in the insurance industry were the most interesting and useful to me since I am the current chairperson of the board of our Insurance Institute. One panel talked about changing perceptions and reshaping insurance as a career. The panelists shared that insurance was not their choice of career after graduation from college. Some said that they had accidentally gone into insurance. Of course, they were one in saying that despite the circumstances of their joining the insurance industry, they have stayed and enjoyed their work. It is difficult enough to attract talent into the industry; the other challenge is how to keep them. The pandemic has changed the ways and style of working. Employees look for companies where there is a flexible work schedule. Since technology has made it easy to work from home, employees, especially working mothers, request that schedule for maybe twice a week.
One topic that drew a lot of reactions from the audience was "Diversity, equity and inclusion in insurance: Linking diversity to performance." The panelists agreed that diversity in age, gender, education and background can affect performance in a company. But creating an environment that is open and fosters diversity in thinking can reduce diversity among employees. I threw in my suggestion that, as much as possible, employers should encourage training and changes in positions or roles in the organization to allow the workforce a diversified experience.
Looking ahead into the future, the delegates to the conference think that the top challenges facing the industry now are AI, cyber, pricing and profitability, compliance, fraud and inflation.