New Year Ahead

Sharing my note has always been my way of connecting with you on the matters closer to my heart. We have thrived through an unprecedented 2021. The grit I witnessed last year reminded me of our Singapore Lions soccer team’s resilience and their never give up attitude as they played against all odds and fought till the last minute with the Indonesia team. Even though they didn’t win, the nation was extremely proud of their achievements.

Similarly, 2021 was an extremely challenging year for every one of us, but I am proud of my AIA Family. The team had stood the test of unpredictability as we forged ahead as one AIA Team. My heartfelt thanks to my comrades for journeying with me and always going out of their way to provide our customers with the best service experiences.

As a people-first insurer, AIA Singapore have been continually transforming with the aim of providing high-tech, high-touch and high-trust services to meet our customers’ evolving needs with compelling propositions via a digital-first strategy – leveraging on Technology, Digital and Analytics (TDA). Through this, we have pivoted to become simpler, faster, and more connected with our customers.

In 2021, AIA Singapore won 30 coveted awards! AIA’s award-winning Claims EZ portal is a testament of how AIA has redefined the claims process, using AI and machine learning technologies to automatically assess and process claims without human intervention and supports the disbursement of claims payouts within 1 to 4 working days as compared to the industry average of 2 weeks. Additionally, with the support and trust from our customers, AIA Singapore also won Gold in the Best Employee Insurance Provider Award for 16 consecutive years – which is no easy feat.

Achievements aside, giving back to our community is also important to AIA Singapore. In November 2021, we launched the AIA Better Lives Fund, which aims to raise its first S$1 million within the first year to support disadvantaged children, youths and their families. The funds raised will go toward creating greater access and opportunities for education, growth and development in support of AIA Singapore’s longstanding adopted charity partners – Children’s Wishing Well and VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer – administered by Community Chest. ?

With investments in environmental, social, and governance a business priority, AIA Singapore pledged to make positive contributions not only to the health of Singaporeans and the wider community, but also the environment. In April 2021, we launched our green pledge of S$5 million to the National Parks Board's (NParks’) registered charity, Garden City Fund, to plant trees in Singapore's parks and nature reserves over the next five years – the largest contribution by an organisation to NParks' OneMillionTrees movement to build a more sustainable society for families and future generations.

These accomplishments would not have been possible without the commitment of my AIA Family. It is the people that matters, and I am grateful to everyone at AIA. Their strength and tenacity have been inspiring me and I look forward to every engagement with the team. While we do our best every day for the good of our stakeholders, the well-being of my comrades is a priority. This has led to a series of initiatives launched specially for them - from work-from-home assistance scheme to stress and wellness training for people managers which are critical to help them identify common mental health issues and learn how to appropriately support their staff in both good and bad times.

We also collaborated with Holmusk to roll out mHaven, a mobile app to empower our staff in their self-care journey and provide mental well-being coverage for them. To further enhance our employees’ mental well-being, we have also rolled out a series of webinars during the World Mental Health Day in October last year, engaging them with valuable tips and know-how?so that they can take control of their mental health.

As we ring in the new year, I know it’ll be an exceptional 2022 with my AIA Family. I am confident that we’ll forge ahead and do even better to enable more people to live healthier, longer, better lives.

Happy New Year to you and your family!