Established in 2007, with an annual turnover of THB 52bn (USD 1.6bn), Krungthai-AXA Life (KTAXA) is a joint venture between Krungthai Bank PCL (the largest state-owned bank in Thailand) and the AXA Group (global financial protection and asset-management specialists.)
The company employs over 1,300 staff personnel, who provide service to over 2.2 million customers, supported by 16,000 professional distributors and Krungthai Bank’s extensive nationwide branch network. KTAXA specializes in many individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs including, Health & Protection and Investment.
In 2020, the company partnered with KTB and launched ‘PA 365’, which is the affordable personal accident protection for KTB’s Emerging Customers. PA 365 aims to protect the mass population of uninsured or underinsured, while also complementing KTAXA’s brand purpose, ‘act for human progress by protecting what matters.’
Sally O’Hara, the energetic and committed Australian, is the first female CEO of KTAXA. She was appointed in 2018 and has successfully transformed and resurrected the business to reflect the new environment including the low-interest rate market and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is fluent in Thai and has inculcated a life-long experience working in the insurance business.
KTAXA Business Strategy
KTAXA has had a resounding success in the life insurance market owing to its excellent products and services, payer to partner strategy, and joint venture with Krungthai Bank. Over the last few years, the company has transitioned from a payer of claims to a long-term trusted partner. Moreover, the company’s foundational approach is committed to partnering with each customer on an individual level and providing them with custom-made solutions.
In 2019, to further invest in its customer-centric strategy, KTAXA launched a new brand promise: “Know You Can”, to encourage customers to inculcate a core of self-belief within themselves and to support them in achieving their goals and ambitions. By embodying the “Know You Can” brand signature and reinforcing their promise to their customers, KTAXA launched a global brand campaign in 2021 – “When you feel confident, you can go far. When you feel protected by KTAXA, you can go further.”
The campaign brings the company’s fundamental purpose to life: “act for human progress by protecting what matters”, thus evolving the meaning of the brand’s promise from empowering an individual’s self-belief towards being a pioneer of progress through collective and connected confidence.
The product blend has also been crucial to the success of the corporate strategy. To survive and adapt quickly to the ongoing crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and low-interest rates, the company understood that there was a need for a shift in its product portfolio to more health, protection, and investment solutions to suit the customer’s evolving needs and expectations. iHealthy is KTAXA’s most comprehensive and best-selling health product. The company has also recently launched iLink, a hybrid product offering both protection and investment.
Despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, KTAXA worked closely with its customers and harnessed its expertise in technology and innovation to develop several customer-centric services such as Telehealth and Telemedicine. With these services, customers can access medical treatment online and via telephone, without having to visit the hospital. Another noteworthy example is “Phygital”, a service that combines the words Physical & Digital, referring to speedy application and underwriting approval from agents of KTAXA who communicate directly with the customers.
All KTAXA’s actions are piloted by its purpose “act for human progress by protecting what matters.” The power of this foundation and the increasing role KTAXA plays in people’s lives are impressively confirmed by the independent Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures how likely existing customers will recommend the brand to their friends and family.
KTAXA increased its NPS from 46% in 2019 to 70% in October 2020, compared to the market average of 60%. Furthermore, Krungthai-AXA Life had an outstanding response from the target audience of the recent Global Brand Campaign. They were attributed to a high percentile of 63% for the Hero Film 30s and likeability was at 96% which is the best-measured response in Thailand.
The exceptional caliber and resilience of its employees are at the heart of its success. Despite the challenges this past year presented, KTAXA’s workforce remained focused on serving its clients and executing its strategy. And although socially distanced, there has never been a stronger sense of togetherness and unity across the company – a sentiment that is also reflected in its employee engagement results, which reached astounding record levels in 2020.
Winners of ‘Best Brand in Insurance’ & ‘Best Green Initiative’ (‘Know you Can’ save the Environment)
KTAXA was the winner of two prestigious awards for this year from The Global Economics, a UK-based financial publication, and a bi-annual business magazine. The awards for ‘Best Brand in Insurance’ and ‘Best Green Initiative’ (‘Know you Can’ save the environment) both went to KTAXA for their success in the market and commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment.
Furthermore, this company also received 20 business awards in 2020, including the prestigious award of ‘Outstanding Development Insurance Company’ for the improvement of product, service, and digitalization from the OIC; ‘Thailand’s Best Employers 2020’ from KINCENTRIC; and ‘Best Health Insurance Provider’ from The World Business Outlook Awards.
Sustainability
KTAXA is dedicated to protecting the environment and this sense of corporate responsibility sets it apart from its competitors. In 2020, KTAXA launched its strategy to counteract the mishaps of climate change called ‘Go Green’, which outlines ambitious targets to reduce its carbon footprint internally and within the community.
In 2020, Krungthai-AXA Life officially launched its Tree Planting Campaign which aims to demolish the effects of deforestation and climate change in Thailand and raise awareness about protecting the environment. To date, the company has planted over 75,000 trees and plans to plant 100,000 trees by 2022.
Inclusion and Diversity is the motto
KTAXA intends on promoting an environment where everyone can be themselves. The right to equality, without gender discrimination, is given the utmost importance. Over 50% of the executive committee are now females, and they have invested in leadership by women and other mentoring programs.
The multi-national and diverse workforce at KTAXA is also a source of competitive advantage. Over 30 staff have some form of disability and many of their employees are from the LGBT community. The unbiased and inclusive strategy of KTAXA fosters a culture of innovation and creativity, bringing a fresh perspective to the organization.
KTAXA’S Future Aspirations
The company’s commitment and dedication to simplifying its business model with a strong emphasis on digitalization will continue to be a priority for the future. Through digitalization, the company can support its customers from around the country and the globe efficiently.
KTAXA is also keen to deepen its in-house expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to improve productivity and ultimately provide a better customer experience. The company’s product blend will continue to transform as they move away from savings plans towards health and protection products and investment-linked policies.
KTAXA will continue to ensure that sustainability and corporate social responsibility are parts of its DNA. They strive to be obvious in these foundational qualities in every single aspect of the business including its products and services, supporting local communities, reducing its carbon footprint, and investing in its employees. KTAXA’s brand-conscious strategy coupled with its strong balance sheet will always provide a solid base for resilience and profitable growth despite the challenging economic uncertainty and prolonged low-interest rates.