National Life is seen as a trusted insurer: NLGIC chairman
MUSCAT: Anwar Hilal Hamdoon Al Jabri, chairman of National Life & General Insurance Company (NLGIC), briefs on its growth in the Sultanate, its vision and mission and many more in the interview. National Life is the largest composite insurance company in Oman. Can you highlight the growth of National Life?
National Life is one of the largest and fastest growing insurers in the insurance industry in Oman, with operations in UAE and soon expanding operations to other GCC countries. We created new benchmark in motor, medical and other personal lines business in the Sultanate. Some facts: Total gross direct premium of OMR101.20m for financial year 2016. (largest composite insurance company in Oman): We have received Good (B++) financial strength rating from A.M Best & Co. & ISO 9001:2008 certification.
Huge base of over 700,000 satisfied customers: More than 185 sales/service touch points/physical locations across Oman, which is highest ever for any insurance company in Oman.
Growth rate have been over 23.5 % in last 5 years: Our total asset is nearly OMR130 million as on December 31 2016.
Approximately 18% return on equity in last 5 years: I must say that National Life’s growth as a company so far has been rewarding and fulfilling. What is the company’s mission and vision?
National Life & General Insurance Company has clearly defined Vision & Mission & it serves as a “North Star” that keeps everyone clear on the direction.
Our mission is, “to provide in- novative insurance solutions with personalised service exceeding customer’s expectations. We are committed to bringing quality products to market while providing the best services to our customers”.
Our vision is “to continue the tradition of trust as the most preferred insurer in the Sultanate and to blaze the trail of excellent business practices of international standards to serve our local customers and the Gulf region at large to achieve valued customer satisfaction and society benefit”. NL has turned a 100 million company now and is the largest insurance firm in Oman in terms of premium income. What drives the company’s growth?
Yes, we are pleased to achieve this milestone along with solid growth and profitability through the year 2016. Despite a challenging economic environment, National Life has reported a record gross direct premium, proving the trust that the customers have in the company. Our strategy, in line with our mission and vision of providing value to customers is yielding the desired results.
Customer centric approach, market friendly products, multiple distribution channels, wide distribution network, best-in-class service quality and continuous innovation in products & processes are our growth drivers, allowing us to add to the company’s financial foundation for the continued protection of our policyholders.
The faith reposed in us by our customers has enabled us to achieve these significant milestones and is reflected in the quantum of crossing OMR100m in gross premium making us the largest composite insurer in Oman. We look forward to building up on these in the months and years ahead. NL as a brand is growing stronger in the Oman market and has attained market leadership? What is unique about the brand?
Brand value is created upon the way the end customer perceives about the company. National Life has always put customers as the first and foremost priority. That is how, over a period of time we could have a strong foundation of satisfied customers. This helps not only in building our brand value but also in building trust and reputation in the places where we operate. This in turn offers multiple intangible business benefits that propel growth.
I am glad that today, National Life is seen as a trusted insurer that is growing day by day. Customer service is a key factor in the insurance segment. What are the training initiatives for the staff to ensure prompt services to customers?
Insurance though is a part of the financial industry; its products are highly knowledge based. Insurance requires certain amount of knowledge of not only of the financial sector but also about the details of the product and systems.
NLGIC training - We impart induction training to our employees that deal with product features, coverage types, premium rates and also knowledge about the underwriting conditions and other systems processes to offer the right kind of cover to customers
National Life imparts on-job training that ensures that our employees learn the in and out and is thorough to ensure hassle free insurance buying experience to our customers. Other training programmes like soft skill training, customer handling etc. is on going round the year to provide worldclass customer care.
Our operations and support staff undergo high-end training modules in their respective departments. We nominate selected employees for training at third party centres to acquire higher level of professional knowledge in our attempt to keep growing. We also have a system of interdepartmental deputation wherein an employee is given a chance to work in another department of his/her interest and acquire more knowledge in the insurance domain. Our staff is also well trained on all parameters of the systems and sales processes so that our customers get hassle free, easy and prompt insurance buying experience. Our trained staff ensures world class after sales service too. What are the opportunities and challenges facing the insurance sector in Oman?
Oman offers a positive outlook with significant growth potential. Opportunities Low insurance penetrations provides huge potential to add more customers and with our strong physical presence in more than 185 locations, we are on the right track.
Personal lines insurance offers the opportunity to expand our product portfolio and increase premium income.
Oman’s demographics also offer favourable growth prospects. Oman population constitutes of a significant number of the young and the employed and can considerably affect required growth along with a good mix of expats and nationals. Challenges Price war - Price is one of the top deciding factors in the Sultanate and we are continuously working towards providing affordable insurance at competitive rates
High customer expectations - With the rise in education, communications, and knowledge base, customers are becoming more, more aware, and hence more demanding. This keeps us on our toes to provide insurance solutions that meet customer expectations.
Distribution - Considering the vast spread of land of the Sultanate, reaching out to customers at all levels/places becomes a challenge. Thankfully, we have developed more than 185 sales/service touch points across a good geographical spread of our country. We also have multiple distribution channels to meet this challenge. What according to you is the way ahead in Oman?
With a diverse customer base, a good mix of expats/nationals, the way forward in Oman is to have a multi-channel approach as the new-gen customer interacts with more than just one channel.
We need to seamlessly integrate the operations of new and alternative channels with traditional channels to present an integrated view to the customer.
Should have world-class customer service system and state of the art infrastructure well set.
Thirdly, the fact that customers typically buy insurance as an investment or a savings product makes a strong case for combo offerings. Even online insurance is a potential channel.
Lastly, I would like to mention about is claims experience and insurance companies in Oman should have an integrated claimsprocessing system offering simplified and faster claims resolution mechanism resulting in lower costs and enhanced customer fulfilment. What are the company’s CSR initiatives?
We strongly believe that good corporate citizenship is important for the success of any organisation. National Life’s CSR objective is to pro-actively supporting meaningful socio-economic development of country. This is based on the belief that growth and development are effective only when we are able to create an inclusive environment and they result in wider access to opportunities and benefit a broader section of society. Some CSR activities: In Oman, we have tied-up with Dar Al Atta’a for several CSR related activities. We have partnered with Dar Al Atta’a for distribution of ‘Iftaar Saem’ in Quriyat and Barka. The company also has CSR focused in the areas of providing aid to differently abled, women empowerment, helping the needy with resources, student care, sponsoring for hearing aid equipment, education, health, skill development and sustainable livelihood, etc.
The company supports programmes and initiatives keeping protection as the core proposition and cornerstone of all its CSR initiatives since protection is core to the company’s business.