Carrying the mission of life insurance forward with malleability and excellence

IRECENTLY addressed life insurance distribution leaders at the 2021 General Agents and Managers Association (GAMA) Leaders Convention. The event carried the theme “Malleability and Excellence in the New World,” encouraging attendees to carry on the industry’s mission and respond to the changes in 2020, which have lasting implications in life insurance.

The pandemic triggered economic shock among clients, challenging their capability to commit to financial plans. It also intensified the sophistication of their needs with new risks and preferences that financial service providers should address.

Favorable trends included an increased appreciation for protection as the benefits of insurance became real and prevalent, igniting an emotional platform that drove clients’ consideration higher. Meanwhile, digitalization accelerated and is seen to stay, driving many insurers to invest and strengthen related capabilities. Lastly, the growing importance of health is seen to drive innovation and address gaps in the country’s health system.

Despite the changes, however, the industry’s mission remains unchanged. It must continue to be our anchor as we navigate through these uncertain times and prepare for what will come. History teaches us that after every crisis, a period of tremendous growth and prosperity follows. We must be ready to leverage this when it happens.

GAMA’s theme this year steered actionable realizations in shaping our industry’s purpose during this pivotal period. To harness these new opportunities, our distribution leaders need to become both malleable and excellent.

Malleability

Being malleable enables us to maneuver through difficult situations by being adaptive and resilient. This is important, especially since we must constantly adapt to our clients’ needs, their financial or investment knowledge, their goals, their cash flows and their dreams for loved ones.

Blindly insisting on the old ways without checking our plans against the new environment puts us at risk of losing the business we have built for years, not just for ourselves but also for our families.

To be malleable, consider the following points:

Anchor on strengths. Transformation can be uncomfortable. It helps to pivot from a reliable anchor like our strengths. We must not lose the important attributes that make us who we are.

Start with the big things. Prioritizing high-impact tasks allow us to try new things, confident that the critical concerns have already been covered.

Listen to understand. A sound understanding of what needs to be changed comes from mindful engagement with clients, allowing continued relevance in approaching their goals.

Try new solutions. Have a testand-learn mindset. We may not launch a perfect product at the get-go but we will develop our capabilities and learn over time.

Work with others. Success takes multiple partnerships to happen. Collaborate where possible.

Excellence

Many people pursue success but success is an outcome. Making success the ultimate goal might spur shortcuts, bad faith or disappointments.

Let us pursue excellence instead, so we will be inspired to aim for the highest level of service for clients. Consider the following:

Clear ideals. Clearing the image we aspire to become will push us to elevate our standards and values. Asking, “Is there a better way to do this?” will set the tone for continuous improvement.

Commitment. Misses are inevitable in the journey to excellence. What’s important is holding on to our convictions and improving with every lesson.

Compassion. The perfect complement to excellence, compassion allows us to understand better, make a difference in our clients’ lives and fulfill our purpose.

At first, achieving a balance between malleability and excellence will be a challenge. However, it is worth pursuing, for both strongly complement each other.

As we continue to reinvent during these extraordinary times, let us remain focused on the financial freedom and the wellness of Filipinos. The spirit of being malleable and excellent will guide us in living our purpose of making a difference in the lives of more Filipinos.