FWD Thailand 68% Growth Rate

FWD LIFE Insurance Thailand aims to become a top-five company by 2018 after reporting strong performance last year. Currently the country's eighth-ranked life-insurance company, FWD said its annual premium equivalent in 2015 grew by 68 per cent year on year, the fastest in the sector, compared with the market average of 9 per cent, while its total premium income increased by 20 per cent.

The company said it also had Thailand's fastest-growing agency channel last year with 90-per-cent growth from 2014 and the fastest-growing bank channel at 49 per cent. It attributed that to its strong partnership with TMB Bank and the launch of new products focusing on needs identified through customer research.

FWD reorganised its operations to build a synergy across all TMB branches. It said it also recorded the fastest-growing alternative channel in 2015 with 240-per-cent growth, which was supported by its partnerships with brokers across Thailand in retail sales, direct marketing and group business.

Chief executive Mike Plaxton said FWD would become a top-five life-insurance company by focusing on its staff.  These are "the same people that gave a great result last year and who live our deep commitment to being a customer-led company that helps to take care of our customers' financial freedom so they can live their passions today", he said.

FWD plans to launch a number of strategic initiatives in 2016 including mobile payments via Line, the launch of a new responsive corporate website and customer engagement initiatives FWD-branded apps and games.