Allianz.com News: Allianz Taiwan has achieved outstanding results in 2007. The company climbed two places and is now the fourth largest Taiwanese life insurer based on new business.

Chris James: Indeed, 2007 was a great year for Allianz Taiwan Life. Our first-year premiums increased by 79 percent, and operating profit was ahead of plan. Another significant development in 2007 was the buy-out of joint venture partner Uni-President Group. Allianz now holds almost 100 percent in Allianz Taiwan Life and fully benefits from the success of the company.

How do you plan to stay on this track?

James: There are still areas where we can add value to the Taiwanese life insurance market, for example through product innovation and service expertise. Within the market, we provide the most comprehensive and efficient services to our customers and business partners and are also very fast to market new products.

Our main goals are to maintain a top five position, increase our market share and grosswritten premiums to 1.8 billion euros.

In 2007, almost 80 percent of Allianz Taiwan’s new business came through banks. Do you intend to strengthen your agency channel?

James: We are very successful in our cooperation with more than 30 bancassurance partners. Most importantly, we want to serve our customers through the distribution channel of their choice. That means: continue to develop our partnership with banks as well as brokers, and also boost our agency force from 1,300 up to 2,000 as soon as possible. We believe that multi-distribution is the key to sustainable growth and profitability.

Allianz Taiwan has a leading position in unit-linked products; what is the company’s competitive advantage?

James: Our products are innovative and respond to customers' needs. To truly satisfy the needs of customers in their different life stages, we are actively developing our investment platforms to meet diverse investment targets. Our company selects the funds and investment targets through careful evaluation of the investment environment and options.

Our unit-linked products offer more than 300 mutual funds, covering over 40 well-known fund houses that enable our customers to diversify their risk and achieve attractive return in the long run. In addition, many of these funds have won awards in Taiwan. To continue growing, we need to keep a leading position in the unit-linked product business, while also developing traditional products. This is what makes us an integrated solution provider.

Naturally, successful insurers face challenges with the copycat syndrome. How do you deal with your products being copied?

James: We believe that our focus on customers and innovation will keep us ahead of the pack.

Customer Focus is a strategic priority for the Allianz Group and also for Allianz Taiwan Life. We want to improve our service to customers and business partners. In 2007 Allianz Taiwan was benchmarked as the third most-recommended company by customers among our peers. To improve further, we will mobilize our frontline staff to improve services based on  continuous feedback, complaint management systems, and service recovery in 2008.

In order to meet our customers' needs, we keep searching for innovative ways to enhance our services. For instance, we have the widest range of funds, constant product innovation, and a comprehensive range of distribution channels to facilitate access to our services. In 2007 a new TV shopping channel was added to serve customers buying insurance products from home. For our business partners, we tailor-make flexible services and IT support, as well as e-tools, such as online fund management platforms.

You took over as a CEO in Taiwan just four months ago. What is your impression about your new business environment?

James: My first four months in Taiwan have been hectic but fun. The competitive environment is tough and the recent turbulence in the equity and bond markets has added to the pressure. However, our team in Taiwan is smart and focused, so we see this as an opportunity as much as a challenge. The people in Taiwan are hardworking, warm, and positive so this has made my transition even easier. Going forward, I‘m very excited to learn more about the country, the culture and I hope to learn some Mandarin along the way.

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