7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

7THASIA TRUSTED

LIFE AGENTS & ADVISERS
AWARDS

2 22

WINNERS

Organisers Co-organiser Strategic partner

Organisers

Co-organiser Strategic partner

Supporting organisations

Scrutineer

2 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

2 Message – 3 Message – Contents
patron CEO
4Message –
5 Message – 6 The judges co-organiser
strategic partner 17 Financial Adviser
15 Rookie Insurance
16Rookie Insurance of the Year Agent of the Year
Agency Leader
of the Year 20Digital Leader 18Employee
of the Year Benefits Provider
19Bank Partner of the Year
of the Year
21 InsurTech
of the Year

22 Digital 23Inspirational 24 Lifetime
Transformation Leader Achievement
of the Year of the Year Award

25Insurance 26Insurance Agent 28Young Executive
Agency Leader of the Year of the Year
of the Year

29Employee Benefits 30Executive 31 Insurance
Consultant Champion Company
of the Year of the Year of the Year

32 The finalists

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 1

Message – patron

As the founding patron of the Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards, it is excellent to see the
awards enter their seventh successful year.
Tonight’s virtual ceremony is being held at a period which is as volatile and uncertain as I can
remember. Geopolitically, economically, socially, environmentally and – of course – in terms of public
health. In a global environment filled with such uncertainty, our industry plays a crucial role in providing our
customers with reliable protection against both predictable risks and radical uncertainties.

It does not stop there. Our industry is also a powerful source of long-term investment capital. As trusted
risk managers, we not only occupy a critical space in the financial services ecosystem but also play an
equally important role supporting the global economy.

However, as with all industries, we are only as good as our people. As these awards demonstrate,
agents and advisers have once again proven themselves to be amongst our most valued and important
frontline colleagues. They continue to raise the bar for outstanding customer service, making first use
of a range of innovative products and digital technologies. As always, they have gone the extra mile to
understand and meet customer needs – ultimately supporting their wellbeing.

Each of tonight’s nominees and winners has helped our industry to grow, its reputation to be maintained
and our communities to become stronger. After yet another challenging year, I would like to offer my
sincere thanks and congratulations for your effort, commitment, and contribution.

I would also like to offer my deep thanks to Asia Insurance Review and Asia Advisers Network for helping
us all to celebrate the achievements of our industry, and also to the panel of judges who are tasked with the
difficult job of picking our esteemed winners this evening.

Mark Tucker

Group chairman,
HSBC

2 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Message – CEO

Applauding the industry stars

The 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents and Advisers Awards are here and it gives us great pleasure, delight
and honour, on behalf of Asia Advisers Network (AAN) and Asia Insurance Review (AIR), to be
hosting the shining stars of the industry. Not only are the winners to be congratulated and saluted, but
all finalists that made it through the entire judging process should be praised for their spirit as well.

Despite the long pandemic road we have all faced, we have not seen any reduction in the passion,
endurance and downright grit of insurance agents and advisers. On the contrary, they continued to break
the record high standards set each year. Looking at the level of excellence, perseverance, empowerment
and innovative ways in which agents continue to serve their clients, we should take our hats off to them for
keeping the bar so high.

Needless to say, the role agents and advisers play in the insurance landscape is priceless, and
especially crucial at a time when so many uncertainties exist. They are the ambassadors representing the
crucial role insurance plays in the whole ecosystem. For this and more, the winners chosen today must
truly be applauded and saluted for their courage, commitment and downright persistence in keeping their
customers as first priority.

We at AAN are humbled to be part of this noble process of recognising that X factor. We thank the
distinguished panel of 26 judges, who contribute to the prestige of these awards. The transparent and
legitimate process remains the fortress of strength of these awards, with KPMG as the independent scrutineer.
We are truly grateful to Mr Mark Tucker, the patron since these awards were launched, as well as our strategic
partner AIA, and co- organiser LIMRA. In addition, the many regional associations that lent their support are
truly appreciated as well. Thank you for going the extra mile to lend your support every year.

Every nominee deserves recognition for their guts to compete and be counted. It was a very tough fight
indeed as the competition started with more than 222 nominations, narrowed down to 65 finalists from
12 countries. Tonight, the chosen 16 will take the trophy.

These awards are highly sought after and the toughest trophy to bag. So everyone is a winner in our
eyes and you all deserve respect as the soldiers of the insurance industry.

Thank you also to our team at AAN and AIR who have been working hard behind the scenes to bring you
this virtual extravaganza where the stars of tonight’s Walk of Fame will be saluted. I am very grateful for our
team’s efforts and dedication.

Winners, we know you will stand tall and be proud of your achievements, as you so sincerely deserve.
We cannot wait to see what you have in store for us in being unstoppable in future.

The industry depends on you. We salute all of you and wish you the very best for the rest of 2022.

Sheela Suppiah

CEO,
Asia Insurance Review, Middle East Insurance Review & Asia Advisers Network

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 3

Message – co-organiser

It is my honour to congratulate each and every one of you sincerely. I strongly believe that the individuals
and organisations being celebrated today are exemplary models for the financial services industry –
representing outstanding levels of integrity, professionalism, knowledge, and dedication to those they
serve.

LIMRA considers it a tremendous privilege to play a role in recognising the top financial professionals
across Asia at the seventh annual Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards Ceremony. We know this
prestigious award is only given to the best and brightest in the region. LIMRA has served the industry since
1916 and its mission is to help its members navigate change with confidence – by providing them valuable
knowledge, insights, connections and solutions. A piece of achieving this goal is to ensure we support
events like this and show our gratitude to those of you who are truly living our industry’s mission every day.

As winners of this award, you demonstrate the importance of understanding your clients’ needs and
earning their trust. It is the ultimate reflection of faith in you that they trust your guidance in protecting their
families, in caring for everything and everyone who matters most. Your hard work is to be commended, as
your contributions will have an ongoing, positive impact on your clients and our industry. I hope you share our
pride in all you have achieved and our belief that leaders like you are the driving force shaping our industry for
tomorrow.

The past two years have brought unprecedented challenges, as people and businesses have faced
difficulties we never could have imagined. However, one bright spot is that we rediscovered how strong
we can be when we all work together. This sense of optimism and partnership will remain integral to our
shared success. As we move forward, collaboration will be valuable and necessary in everything we do.

In this spirit, LIMRA is pleased to partner with Asia Insurance Review and Asia Advisers Network
for special events such as these awards. As a member organisation, we also take seriously the
strong connections we have with companies around the globe. And certainly, consumers need trusted
relationships with their agents and advisers more than ever before. Through all these forms of partnership,
we have overcome unthinkable challenges.

As our world begins to move forward from these trying times, we can do so with a sense of hope and
renewed purpose. More than ever, people need the protection our industry provides. I am confident you will
continue to give individuals, families and businesses peace of mind and financial security.
I am confident you will continue to live the mission of helping others through their most vulnerable
situations. And I am confident that, working together, we will build a better future.

Thank you for the critical role you play in the lives of so many. Once again, congratulations.

Paul Arrowsmith

President, international,
LL Global

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Message – strategic partner

Congratulations to everyone who has been recognised at this year’s edition of the Asia Trusted
Life Agents & Advisers Awards. The past year has presented us with challenges caused by the
pandemic but has also delivered opportunities as markets have started reopening. The 2022 awards
are especially meaningful as a testament to your resilience, professionalism and dedication to serving our
customers.

Make no mistake, service is the key: Providing our customers with peace-of-mind when they need it
most is what makes you all winners.

Particularly over the past few years, customers have developed an increased focus on healthcare and
protection, which, in turn, has led to changes in awareness and expectations. Customers are much more
engaged with health issues and understand the role insurance plays. But they also expect the companies
they work with to be more purposeful, more trusted, to be seamless and to provide added value.

The challenge before us is to keep pace with our customers’ changing expectations and evolving needs.
To do that we must also undergo a transformation, in our mindsets, our learning and our culture.

But likewise, the opportunity we face is truly to become agents of change in the communities we serve.
That requires innovation in our approach, the way we sell to and engage with our customers. We must
ensure that each of our interactions with them is relevant, that our advice is personalised and that their
individual financial and protection needs are met. We must partner with them and accompany them on
each stage of their health journey: Predict, prevent, diagnose, treat and recover.

The potential here is enormous. We have a chance to bring significant positive outcomes to the people
in our communities at a time when meeting their needs for protection and health and wellness care is more
important than ever.

I know that you are the ones who can produce this outcome. Your diligence, your professionalism,
your insight, and your compassion are among the qualities that make you more than just award winners.
They make you the future of the insurance industry.

Once again, congratulations to all the nominees and the winners. Let’s continue to fight hard for our
communities and serve millions more people across Asia.

Rishi Srivastava

CEO, group agency distribution,
AIA Group

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 5

The judges

Andy Law Min Anurag Gupta Benedicto Sison

Immediate past president, Senior vice president, national head, CEO and country head,
Financial Services Managers Association agency sales, Sun Life Philippines
(FSMA) 2020/2022 Max Life Insurance
Mr Sison is the CEO and country head of
Mr Law has been serving as a FSMA Mr Gupta is currently working with Max Life Sun Life Financial Philippines. He is also the
committee member since 2016. He has as SVP and national head, agency sales. In chairman of the Sun Life Prosperity family of
served as education chair and helped this role, he is responsible for overall agency funds and of Sun Life Foundation.
organise the annual learning conference, sales, improving market share, driving
Singapore Agency Managers’ Conference. product mix, scale up distribution and also Mr Sison received his MBA from the
He has also served as its honorary secretary, improving agents and customer experience. University of California Riverside Graduate
vce presidency for two terms and was School of Management in the USA on a
recently its president for 2020/2022. Mr Gupta has over 22 years of experience full tuition academic scholarship. He was
in insurance sales, business development also bestowed the prestigious George W
Mr Law is a financial services director and product management. Along with his DuBois Memorial Award for his scholastic
with AIA Singapore on the agency front. He exposure in life insurance, he has worked achievement. He also has a degree in BS
is prominent in the employee benefits space, in health insurance as director and head of business administration from the University
featured in Bloomberg magazine four times agency of Max Bupa for six years and was of the Philippines, where he graduated with
in 2016- 2019 for his district’s achievements. a member of its executive leadership team. Magna Cum Laude honours. In December
He is also a certified IBF advanced level Under his leadership, Max Bupa has built one 2012, he was honoured by the institution with
3, a moderator for AMTC, AES, MAPS of the most productive, process-oriented and the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award.
and affiliate of Society of Trust and estate profitable agencies and won the chairman’s
planner. award for agency transformation in 2017.
In his second stint with Max Life, he has
joined as head of agency transformation
and growth initiatives where he enhanced
agency’s focus on growing variable agency,
building agent recruitment muscle at scale,
digitalising agency sales management
processes, developing and implementing
training transformation, setting up sales desk
and rejuvenating overall value proposition to
top agents. He moved to national head role
in April.

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The judges

Calvin Lee Davey Lee Edward Moncreiffe

Financial services director, President, CEO,
AXA Insurance The Life Underwriters Association of HSBC Life (International)
Hong Kong
Mr Lee joined the financial services industry Senior regional director, Mr Moncreiffe is the CEO of HSBC Insurance
in 2008. With vast industry experience, he Prudential Hong Kong (Asia) and HSBC Life (International),
holds the prestigious professional titles of overseeing HSBC’s insurance businesses in
chartered financial consultant and certified Having been in the insurance arena for more Hong Kong and Macao.
financial planner. Being an engineer by than three decades, Mr Lee has served
training and a strong believer of embracing the industry by taking up the leadership in Since joining HSBC Group in 2005,
digital technology with a human touch, he various industry associations. He aims to Mr Moncreiffe has served in a variety of
was awarded LinkedIn champion 2018 by promote the sustainable development of senior executive positions across broking,
his company for his proven success in using the industry by serving LUAHK as well as underwriting, reinsurance, life and non-life
LinkedIn for recruitment. With his guidance, CEPA Business Opportunities Development insurance business lines as well as working
his agent was awarded Digital Agent of the Alliance and being a committee member in group strategy. Prior to moving to Hong
Year 2018 by Asia Trusted Life Agents and of Hong Kong Management Association – Kong in 2016, he was head of life and
Advisers Network. He was further recognised Insurance Industry Committee. pensions for HSBC Brazil.
for his digital work when he was named
the winner for Digital Agency Leader of the In addition, Mr Lee played an active role Beyond HSBC, Mr Moncreiffe is the
Year 2019, ranking him the best in Asia for in the regulatory development of the industry chairman of the Hong Kong Federation
the digitally-savvy agency leader who is by serving as co-opted and committee of Insurers and a member of the general
leveraging the power of social media and member of the Insurance Agents Registration committee of the Insurance Complaints
technology to run his agency. Board before the Insurance Authority’s Bureau. He is also a member of the
takeover in 2019. economic policy committee and financial and
In his practice, Mr Lee leads an agency treasury services committee of The Hong
specialising in retirement adequacy planning, Kong General Chamber of Commerce. He
legacy planning, business owners planning is a governor of the Matilda International
and employee benefits. Believing in giving Hospital and the chairman of the City
back and serving the industry, he was the Mental Health Alliance HK. He is also on the
elected president (2019/20) of Financial board of the United Nations Environment
Services Managers Association (FSMA) of Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and
Singapore. He currently serves on the board the Principles of Sustainable Insurance
of governors (2021/22) of FSMA. (PSI). He holds a BA (Hons) from University
of Durham, UK and an MBA from University
of Chicago Booth School. He is also a
chartered insurer of the Chartered Insurance
Institute.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 7

The judges

James Liu Jeslyn Tan Jude Gomes
劉先覺
President, CEO,
President, Singapore Insurance Institute Union Assurance
Insurance and Financial Practitioners
Association of Taiwan (IFPA) Currently serving as president of the Mr Gomes is the CEO of Union Assurance
Singapore Insurance Institute, Ms Tan is a (UA), Sri Lanka’s fastest growing life
Mr Liu is senior executive advisor to the collaborative and versatile business leader insurance company. UA is part of the
FinTech Research Center of the NCC with international and cross-cultural work John Keells Group, one of the largest
University, cooperating with financial experience. She has extensive experience conglomerates in Sri Lanka.
institutions and technology firms in in a wide variety of roles within the insurance
implementing digital transformation, industry including consulting, distribution, Mr Gomes is also a member of the board
and chairman of IFPA Taiwan, an Asian human resources, operations, and customer of directors of Fairfirst Insurance company
association of life insurance agents. service. She has a flair for identifying talent affiliated with the global Fairfax Group.
Previously, he was CEO of AEGON Taiwan, for the right role and is passionate about He has over 30 years of financial services
having built the company from scratch to a coaching and developing people. experience working across Asian markets.
$30bn asset company; and expanded into
the Asian region. Mr Gomes was a founder member
of Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance as
senior VP and was seconded to Hong Kong
at HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) regional
business development, working across
APAC markets. Thereafter, he has been
with Manulife Group since 2012, pioneering
bancassurance in Vietnam and the Mekong
region.

Mr Gomes holds a masters diploma in
business administration (marketing) from the
Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies
and a bachelor of commerce (Hons) from the
Calcutta University and also a licentiate in
Insurance. He is a certified associate of the
Indian Institute of Bankers, Mumbai and a
fellow member of the Institute of Chartered
Professional Managers of Sri Lanka.

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The judges

Keith Richards Leopold Joseph Janer Mark O’Dell

Chairman, Vice chairman, CEO,
Financial Vulnerability Taskforce Professional Insurance and Financial Life Insurance Association of Malaysia
Advisors Association of the Philippines
A recognised leader within the insurance (PIFAAP) Mr O’Dell is the CEO of Life Insurance
and financial services sectors, Mr Richards Association of Malaysia (LIAM) since 2019.
has 40 years’ experience operating at the Mr Janer is a seasoned insurance and A permanent resident of Malaysia, he has
executive level across manufacturing, financial services professional with over over 41 years of experience in the life
distribution and regulation for insurance, 20 years of experience in sales, account insurance business, including 27 years in
financial planning and professional bodies. management and recruitment. He has Asia, with a track record in spearheading the
He established a strong media profile demonstrated and maintained high levels transformation of the life insurance industry.
whilst representing Tenet Group as group of production being a consistent awardee in He holds both the chartered life underwriter
distribution and development director, prior Manulife Philippines and Manulife Investment and the chartered financial consultant
to which he was head of retail for Royal Management and Trust Corporation. designations from the American College.
London Group. Actively engaged in the He is also a certified financial planner. In
promotion of financial services within the UK Mr Janer is an advocate of continuing 2006, he was named the Personality of the
and internationally, he sits on the board of education and professional development Year by the Asia Insurance Review for his
the European Financial Planning Association, of financial advisers and insurance contribution to the industry and his leadership
chairs the Pension Advice Taskforce, is professionals and has been organising in corporate social responsibility.
chairman of TISA Exco for adviser protocol learning events through the Professional
and chairs the Financial Vulnerability Insurance and Financial Advisors of the In 2018, Mr O’Dell was honoured with
Taskforce. Philippines (PIFAAP) for the past 13 years. the ‘Outstanding Leaders in Asia’ award
He has served as PIFAAP’s past president from ACES (Asia Corporate Excellence
Mr Richards was appointed CEO of the and is currently its vice chairman. and Sustainability Awards). Prior to joining
Personal Finance Society (PFS) in 2013 LIAM, he served as senior vice president,
and additionally appointed as managing Southeast Asia of Manulife from November
director for the Chartered Insurance 2012 to January 2016, overseeing
Institute in 2016. In addition to guiding the Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines during
operational and strategic evolution of the which the territories experienced strong
PFS, he has developed greater government growth. He retired from Manulife in 2018
and regulatory engagement for the financial after serving as the group CEO for Manulife
services and insurance professions and Malaysia. During his 27 years in Asia, Mr
brought enhancements to membership O’Dell has run life operations in Malaysia,
benefits and its CPD programmes, as well as Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan.
launching consumer initiatives.
Mr O’Dell was also appointed the
president of the Life Insurance Association
of Singapore and the Financial Planning
Association of Singapore in 2007- 2008 and
currently sits on a number of boards and
charities.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 9

The judges

Mark Saunders Matthew Kang Teck Wah Michael Shin

Former group executive, group chief Chairman, Regional managing director,
strategy and corporate development Asia Pacific Financial Services Association RGA Hong Kong, Japan and Korea
officer, AIA Group (APFinSA) Chief marketing officer,
RGA Asia RGA Reinsurance
Mr Saunders, after eight years as a group Mr Kang is a senior vice-president of financial
executive committee member of AIA Group services at Manulife Advisory Group, leading Mr Shin is regional managing director
with responsibility for strategy and corporate an agency of financial planners, managers with executive oversight responsibility for
development has recently retired, now focusing and senior managers. He has been with all of RGA’s business activities in Hong
on social impact healthy living and wellbeing Manulife for more than three decades. Kong, Japan and South Korea. He is also
initiatives. He served as a board director of chief marketing officer for RGA Asia, with
various companies within the AIA Group and Mr Kang served as the national president responsibility for all marketing activities in
also has been responsible for the corporate of the Insurance & Financial Practitioners RGA’s Asia-Pacific region.
solutions, group life and health and healthcare Association of Singapore from 1999 to 2001.
businesses across all 18 markets and held the His insurance industry experience spans
position of group chief marketing officer, thereby He is also very active in the community in nearly three decades. Prior to joining RGA in
bringing together strategy and marketing Singapore. He is a senior grassroots leader 2011, he served as executive vice president
centred around customer propositions. and serves as the chairman of Ci Yuan and chief marketing and distribution officer
Community Club Management Committee of New York Life Korea, where his duties
For 17 years prior to joining AIA, he was in Ang Mo Kio Group Representative included being head of agency distribution,
managing director at Towers Watson with Constituency, a member of Ang Mo Kio – marketing, product design and corporate
responsibility for the Asia-Pacific insurance Hougang Citizen Consultative Committee, a communication. He was also with Samsung
sector and the Hong Kong office and board Town Councillor at Ang Mo Kio Town and sits Life Insurance South Korea, where he was
member of various entities. Under his in its audit and risk management committee. corporate vice president, channel strategy and
leadership, the insurance consulting business He was conferred with the National Day Award planning and senior vice president and chief of
grew 20-fold to market leader in Asia Pacific. for Public Service in 2020 by Mdm Halimah advisers and financial planning centre. Earlier,
With widely recognised expertise in strategy Yacob, president of the Republic of Singapore. he spent more than 15 years with Prudential
and determining, and helping drive sustainable Financial Insurance, where he was managing
growth of, the economic value of insurers, he He was once the chairman of one of director for the Asia market.
established a distinctive leadership position Singapore’s most successful professional
in M&A transactions and providing expert football clubs. Until several years ago, he Mr Shin received a bachelor of arts
opinions in IPOs of major insurers in Asia. was chairman of the more than 30,000-strong degree in economics and international
He also provided expert witness testimonials congregation of the New Creation Church business from the University of Wisconsin –
in the high court and has been a member and now continue to serve as a member Madison.
of numerous regulatory committees that set of the church board. He holds an MBA in
industry standards across Asia. strategic wealth management, the chartered
wealth management from AAFM, USA and
For 10 years prior to joining Towers the certificate in law (estate planning).
Watson, Mr Saunders was with UK insurer
Clerical Medical, working in Asia from 1989 The following is the records of his
becoming Hong Kong CEO and turning the involvement with APFinSA: Member of task
business into one with sustained double-digit force at the first APLIC Congress, 1991
profitable growth. He also was executive Honorary secretary of APFinSA (2001-
director and board member of the Isle of Man 2003) Chairman, CEO panel at 11th APLIC
based international life insurance operations Congress in Macau Chairman, APFinSA
of Clerical Medical and its joint venture life board of inquiry – 2011- 2013 Honorary
insurer in Korea. He has been a trusted secretary of APFinSA (2013-2017) Vice
adviser of boards and board committees of chairman of APFinSA (2017-2019) Honorary
leading insurers in Asia holding numerous secretary of APFinSA (2019-2021) Chairman
executive and INED board positions. of APFinSA (2021-2023).

10 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

The judges

Mohit Bahoria Paul Arrowsmith Paul McNamara

Head of agency, digital distribution and President, international Editorial director,
marketing, LL Global Asia Insurance Review and
Allianz Asia Pacific Middle East Insurance Review
Mr Arrowsmith joined LL Global in 2020 Mr McNamara is a journalist, editor, author
Mr Bahoria has a background of more than to lead international operations. In this and biographer with extensive experience
17 years in distribution management, digital, role, he will help member companies’ in Asia, the UK, the Arabian Gulf and
core insurance technology and analytics. He divisions in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Australia covering the wholesale financial
has strong insights from his experience in and the Middle East to achieve their markets. Over the years he has worked
the areas of insurance, consulting and bank business objectives. Mr Arrowsmith is a for the Financial Times Group, Fairfax
distribution. life insurance, bancassurance, and retail Media, Euromoney Institutional Investor,
banking professional with 30 years of CPI Financial and Eaglemont Media. His
Mr Bahoria has a proven track record experience. He has held several senior areas of specialisation include insurance,
of business transformation and execution, leadership positions with leading financial reinsurance, risk, Islamic finance, investment
with delivery of award-winning digital tools services companies, primarily in Asia. banking, project finance, trade finance,
for distribution and several large-sized Most recently, he was managing director wealth management, private equity, hedge
project implementations, such as in agency of the life insurance business for Krungthai funds and alternative investments, the Middle
transformation across all functional areas, AXA, Thailand. In this role, he led efforts to East banking and finance industry, GCC
from recruitment to activity management. revitalise its bancassurance sales process capital markets and the world of interest rate
operations, prepared for the new consumer securities. He is also the author of numerous
Prior to joining Allianz, Mr Bahoria has protection regulations, and refocused the books including The History of Banking in
held roles in various insurance firms within company strategy, positioning it for future the UAE, the History of the National Bank of
the Asian region, including AIA, Zurich growth. He holds a business diploma from Abu Dhabi, Dubai Islamic Bank: 35 Glorious
and Citigroup, with both local and regional Massey University in New Zealand and is Years and many others.
responsibilities. a distinguished fellow with the Singapore
Institute of Banking and Finance.
Mr Bahoria is currently based in the
Allianz regional office in Singapore and has
previously worked in Hong Kong, Malaysia
and India.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 11

The judges

Rick Funke Rico Bautista Rishi Srivastava

International head of distribution President, CEO, group agency distribution,
development, Philippine Life Insurance Association AIA Group
LIMRA President and CEO,
Etiqa Life and General Assurance Mr Srivastava is responsible for the group’s
Mr Funke is a globally recognised and Philippines agency distribution function, a pillar of
respected expert in the assessment and AIA’s strategy to scale and strengthen its
development of sales and sales management Mr Bautista has been in charge of the distribution capabilities. He is a more than
professionals. In his work with LIMRA, transformation of Etiqa Philippines since 20-year veteran of the finance and insurance
he has designed enterprise-based sales 2019, delivering positive growth rates both industry.
recruitment and selection programmes, in the top line and bottom line revenues. He
advised clients on best practices recruiting has led the company in fulfilling its promises Prior to joining the group, Mr Srivastava
and selection programmes and is recognised to its clients, despite the challenging years of led Tata AIA Life Insurance as the CEO
for the delivery of sales effectiveness the COVID-19 pandemic. He has more than and managing director, overseeing its
programmes worldwide. two decades of experience in the insurance transformation to India’s top five private
industry focused on strategic direction life insurer from 17th place through
Mr Funke joined LIMRA in 1982 as setting, sales and marketing, distribution double-digit CAGR growth over a four-year
a research associate and assumed his management, business building and period. His vision of sustainable growth
current role in January 2022. He received employee empowerment. through meaningful business practices was
a bachelor’s degree in psychology from recognised by WRCINT who awarded him
Eastern Connecticut State University. For 2022, Mr Bautista has been elected India’s Most Trusted CEO in 2019.
the president of the Philippine Life Insurance
Association, the umbrella organisation of Mr Srivastava’s previous roles at Tata
all life insurance companies operating in AIA include chief of proprietary channels,
the Philippines. He is also a member of distribution strategy, product, marketing and
the Philippine Insurance and Reinsurance corporate communication. He also spent nine
Association, the industry organisation of non- years at ICICI Prudential Life as chief agency
life companies in the Philippines. officer.

Mr Srivastava has a post-graduate
qualification in marketing, having completed
the advanced management programme
from the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University in the US. He also
has a master of arts degree in economics.

12 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

The judges

Rotha Chan Selina Lau Shalini Pavithran

CEO, Chief executive, CEO,
FWD Cambodia The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers The Malaysian Insurance Institute

Mr Chan is the 2018 Asia Young Leader of Ms Lau is the chief executive of the Hong Ms Pavithran is the CEO of the Malaysian
the Year Award Winner and the 2017 Special Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI), a trade Insurance Institute (MII), the professional
Jury Award Winner by Asia Insurance Review. body with 139 insurers operating in Hong body and education institution for the
He served as a member of the judging Kong which represents over 90% of the Malaysian insurance industry.
panel of the 4th Asia Trusted Life Agents & market share.
Advisers Awards 2019. Having been in the Ms Pavithran also serves as the CEO of
life insurance industry in Cambodia since the Ms Lau has accumulated extensive the ASEAN Insurance Training & Research
inception in 2012, Mr Chan was agency officer management and communications experience Institute (AITRI) in view of the Malaysian
for Manulife Cambodia and led the largest in the field of insurance since she joined the Insurance Institute (MII) being given the
agency force in the country measured by HKFI in 1997. In addition to overseeing the mandate as the secretariat of AITRI.
headcounts and the Million Dollar Round Table operations of the HKFI and its 40+ technical
number. Mr Chan has earned prestigious committees and various consumer education Prior to joining MII, Ms Pavithran spent
awards such as Manulife’s Global Star of and communications projects, she also over 20 years of her career in various
Excellence, Asia Star of Excellence and Share spearheaded a number of significant initiatives sectors within the financial services industry.
Your Humanity Awards. for the industry, including the Insurance Fraud He holds a bachelor of economics degree
Prevention Claims Database, the Motor from the University of Malaya, a bachelor of
Insurance DLT-based Authentication System laws degree from the University of London
(MIDAS), the virtual onboarding platform for and has completed the certificate of legal
the distribution of life insurance products, the practice.
Hong Kong Insurance Awards.

Externally, Ms Lau is a council member
of the Institute of Big Data Governance and
Road Safety Council. She also serves as
member of the Insurance Training Advisory
Committee of the Qualifications Framework,
Road Safety Campaign Committee and
Cyberport Academy Advisory Group for
FinTech. She is also a member of the
Education Forum of the International Union
of Marine Insurance and its Asia Hub.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 13

The judges

Stephen Appleyard Steven Fong

Head of distribution hub Asia, General manager, distribution,
AXA Sun Life Hong Kong

Mr Appleyard joined AXA in 2018 as head With over 20 years of experience in the
of distribution hub Asia having worked industry, Mr Fong has served in variety of
across the region for the past 20 years in senior management positions at both local
managing director, country management and international insurance companies
and regional management roles. He has across distribution channels including
a finance background but joined the life agency and brokerage as well as distribution
insurance industry 24 years ago in the UK as training. He spearheads strategic initiatives
an insurance agent and has since developed to drive quality business growth in agency
his experience as a country CEO and as and brokerage channels that supports the
a leading regional expert on all forms of company’s medium to long term success.
distribution.
Mr Fong joined Sun Life Hong Kong
Mr Appleyard’s experience prior to in January 2017 to hold various positions
AXA includes roles in Taiwan, Thailand, including head of agency business
Indonesia and Hong Kong where he was development and was promoted to chief
CEO of partnership distribution for AIA agency officer in 2018.
across their 17 markets. He has also been
country manager for AIA, Allianz and has Mr Fong has a masters degree in finance
run one of the leading publicly listed life – wealth management and a bachelors
insurers in Thailand, Siam Commercial Bank degree in business administration finance.
Life. A growth market distribution expert, he He has also earned fellow, Life Management
brings this wealth of experience and market Institute and associate, customer service.
knowledge to the judging panel.

14 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Rookie Insurance Agent of the Year

Thet Htar Aung

AIA Myanmar

Ms Aung believes that serving others is her mission. She became a dentist in
2008 and joined the insurance industry in 2020 after seeing her mother-in-law
struggle financially to provide medical care for her husband.
Her eagerness to make a positive change led her to become a life insurance agent.
She believes that life insurance is not just a financial product but is a sustained effort
towards a better future for Myanmar families.

Starting her career in 2020, she was awarded rookie manager of the month the
very first month she joined AIA. In less than six months, she was recognised again as
manager of the month. That same year, amidst the COVID pandemic, she achieved
MDRT and COT, securing over 1,000 clients with a health insurance plan.

She provides localised, well-researched advice and customised plans to meet client
needs. As a passionate advocate for over 1,000 families she serves, she also works
with new potential customers struggling with their financial planning to help them
achieve their financial security.

She is also a certified business coach. To advance women’s welfare and
development, she regularly volunteers with organisations such as Myanmar Women
Entrepreneur Association, Myanmar Women Entrepreneur Network and the Rotary
Club of Mandalay. She also continues to also volunteer as a dentist.

Her coaching experience has been a strength as a financial adviser. She helps
customers manage their risks and works closely with them to meet their goals and
financial plans. She continues to reach out to those who are not as privileged, raising
awareness about financial literacy and how to protect their families.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 15

Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year

Tran Thi Hai Yen

Manulife Vietnam

A CEO of her own successful advertising agency, Ms Tran went into financial
advisory after she faced difficulty finding insurance for her son who had earlier
recovered from a kidney illness. She enrolled into Manulife’s Initial Training
course to gain knowledge and find a solution for her son, but also found a new
passion and an opportunity to help others.

With exceptional leadership skills and a business-savvy mind, she quickly rose up
the ranks at Manulife. Within two years, she had grown her team from five to 84 and
helped them achieve more than VND8.7bn ($372,272) in APE in 2021, a 90% y-o-y
growth rate.

Under her guidance, 20% of the team qualified for titles in 2021, including five
MDRTs, three Masters of Building Agency (MBAs) and nine FCs. Hers was the top
ranked team in the CMC17 area in terms of MDRT members.

During that period, she continued to lead by example and achieved MDRT status
with VND1.05bn in FYP, graduated as Manulife Vietnam’s MBA and reached platinum
status as a Manulife FC.

She was promoted four times in less than two years, from an out-of-industry
manager (November 2019) to unit manager (January 2020), senior unit manager
(June 2020), district manager (January 2021), and senior district manager (June
2021).

The pandemic also taught her to show empathy as a leader and build confidence
in the team. Her innovative ‘Collection of Rejections’ project in 2021 encouraged
advisers to think differently about rejections. Flipping the concept of rejection on its
head and making it a positive experience, she shifted her teams’ thinking away from
what they lost out on to focus instead on what lies ahead.

The project resulted in more than 3,000 customers being approached and 230
policies sold, while also building brand awareness and a greater understanding of
insurance for every person who rejected a sale.

Throughout the pandemic and lockdowns, she found ways to connect with the
community by giving back through her many charitable initiatives. During the past
year, she raised around VND250m for disadvantaged patients in a hospital. From
2019 to 2021, she raised nearly VND1bn for causes such as the Central Vietnam
Food Relief, providing warm-clothing for children in need and sharing Mid-Autumn
Festival gifts for children with disabilities.

16 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Financial Adviser of the Year

Aurawanwalai Eakwaree (Maple)

Krungthai Bank, Thailand

Ms Eakwaree joined Krungthai Bank in 2013. In mid-2019, to further
professionalise the bank’s sales force, Krungthai Bank launched a new
distribution sales force model of bancassurance called the ‘financial planner’
(FP) model. She was one of the first employees to pass the exams and become a
successful FP.

With a persistency level of 93.5 % in December 2021, she was awarded ‘Top
Seller of the Year’, AXA Prime FP, an AXA global certificate recognising the top sales
agents in the world. This is testament to her strong work ethic and commitment to her
customers.

She was also awarded ‘Hall of Fame’ top insurance seller of the year 2021 and
received the award for generating the highest revenue – THB500,000 to 10m per case
($15,200 to $303,000) – at Krungthai Bank. In terms of investment products, she also
received the top seller of fund investment products, over THB1bn a year in the region.

Many of her peers and associates regard her as a mentor, respect her as an
inspiring visionary, and know her to be a leader with a big heart. Her ability to
galvanise the entire team towards a shared vision is remarkable.

Her active involvement with every FP has earned her the respect of her team and
peers. Several have attributed their success to her active involvement in coaching and
guidance. She has done several speaking engagements at the bank about improving
customer relationships and selling techniques.

Her strong sense of goodwill and purpose has encouraged her to seek out clients
who cannot afford such financial planning services such as the Roi-et foundation that
support children’s communities, hospitals and help renovate temples in Thailand and
overseas.

Apart from the qualifications and skillsets she possesses, social responsibility and
public welfare establishments are an important component of her career. She regularly
donates to education charities and is a member of an educational foundation in Roi-et.
She is determined to give back to society to the best of her capacity and serve the
community that has helped her become the person she is today.

She has proved very popular amongst all FPs not just for these inspiring new
initiatives, but she is also always very willing to share her expertise, knowledge, and
data about financial planning so her colleagues can improve their sales targets.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 17

Employee Benefits Provider of the Year

AIA Singapore

A IA Singapore empowers its insurance representatives to provide one stop
solutions to help companies and their workforce in the area of employee’s
benefits.
The insurer uses proprietary technology, eBenefits and MAIA chatbot. The company
is the only employee benefits insurer that actively requests customers to provide real-
time satisfaction rankings.

During 2021 the insurer focused its initiatives to empower its insurance
representatives to provide corporate customers special complimentary coverage for
over 2.6m customers. This ensured that the customers who suffered from COVID-19
received financial help for their medical bills.

AIA Singapore also provided end to end mental wellness support to its customers
by way of complimentary ‘resilience mindset’ programme for mental health insurance
supported by psychologists and psychiatrists.

The insurer expanded its teleconsultation service into complete telehealth services
and made healthcare services available to its 400,000 outpatient customers. In
2021 these services expanded to telehealth offerings beyond general practitioner
consultations by adding home based health screenings, paediatric, psychologist
and psychiatric consultations. The teleconsultations in 2021 increased by 250% as
compared with 2020.

The company brought in eBenefits that included mobile-friendly online portal and
app that provided employees easy and secure access to insurance claims submission
and their policy information.

The insurer also enhanced its eBenefits Intermediary and HR portal, providing the
agents with a one-stop platform to update member enrolment, download invoices,
analyse claims statistics and issue electronic letter of guarantee thus allowing for a
more seamless management of employee benefits programmes.

The personalised case management provided through Teladoc partnership ensured
customers with serious medical conditions being able to tap into a global network of
over 50,000 specialists to provide a second opinion on diagnosis and treatment.

18 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Bank Partner of the Year

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited,
Hong Kong

Due to a diversified bancassurance model, HSBC Life’s 2021 HK annualised
new premiums increased 20% year-on-year to deliver an overall market share
of 17.4% and led to HSBC regaining top position as the leading bancassurer in
Hong Kong and a market share of 30.4%.

Despite the challenges faced under COVID-19 and restrictions, the partnership
between the bank and HSBC Life has responded to the challenges with agility
and customer centricity. HSBC has been able to continue necessary insurance
conversations with customers, protect their long-term futures, maintain policies and
offer the right-fit diversified solutions across wealth and personal banking, high-net-
worth customers as well as commercial clients with innovative digital capabilities.

Online customer service and insurance applications were made available through
virtual tools like virtually-enabled meetings (VEMs) so customers can access
insurance services from their preferred locations, providing greater flexibility and
increased access points both within and outside branch opening hours. Close to 3,000
VEMs were conducted in 2021 covering HSBC’s full range of solutions.

Over 16,700 appointments were made in 2021 through remote service bookings.
Customers can choose when and how they interact with financial advisers, be it
through meeting at their own work locations, branches, video conferencing or via
‘phone calls.

Cashless medical video consultation was launched on HSBC Life Benefits+ with an
NPS score of 67, providing convenience for customers to consult a medical doctor’s
advice without leaving their homes; and product brochures and factsheets on HSBC’s
insurance dashboard and new eStatements for insurance policies have helped
customers access policy information digitally via personal internet banking and mobile
banking.

The cemented partnership between the bank and HSBC Life’s has overcome many
unprecedented challenges in recent years. The bank is confident in working together
to deliver much-needed protection to customers while minimising risks without
compromising customer experience. Going forward, the bank will stay committed to
providing provide first-in-class insurance products and services to the bank’s large
and diversified customer base, leveraging a range of face-to-face, remote virtual and
digital channels.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 19

Digital Leader of the Year

Jaslyn Ng

Prudential Assurance Company, Singapore

Ms Ng has a collective community of over 7,000 followers (across Facebook,
Instagram and LinkedIn) to share her daily life, insightful articles and promote
financial literacy. With the credibility built, she has gained buy-in from
corporate clients and typically gains five walk-ins per month.

She handles 70 clients and her team of agents handle 337 clients collectively.
In 2021, she recruited seven FCs, five of whom joined via social media. She also
achieved Court of Table and Million Dollar Agency. She was among the top three
senior financial services managers in the first half of 2021 and was also promoted to
financial services director.

Together with two other agents, she helped raised S$9,821 ($7,005) for Community
Chest through two rounds of charity coffee chats she initiated. She was invited as
a keynote speaker in Asia Adviser Network Virtual Summit to share the strategies
and insights of closing C-Suite clients and gets regular invitations as a speaker with
different agencies. She has spoken to more than seven agencies in 2021.

She was appointed as a Prudential MDRT ambassador and recruitment kick-off
keynote speaker to provide mentorship to peers in digital media growth (production
and recruitment). Out of seven FCs recruited, five joined through social media.
She was also able to allocate more time to coaching whilst maintaining her sales
production. Attributing 80% of sales due to digital efforts. All her FCs prospect through
social media platforms with relevant digital skills and digital decks for pitching.

Ms Ng was also nominated to join Prudential’s feedback and marketing working
committee along with 4 other ALs to give inputs for marketing initiatives. Concurrently,
she was part of Pru’s Fin-Fluencer group to share insights in social media platforms.

In 2021, she nearly cleared MMDA (S$1.27m regular premiums, 337 lives, 586
cases). She has attracted over 200 clients through social media and was fastest
to rise to financial services director within 4.5 years – expanding team size whilst
maintaining COT y-o-y.

20 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Insurtech of the Year

Heartzmail Pte Ltd, Singapore

Headquarter (HQ), by Heartzmail continues to deliver services with a high-touch
client experience consistently, which has been the goal of trusted advisers.
HQ’s solutions help resolve some of the toughest problems that affect
financial advisers and their clients. The company’s monthly eNewsletter and
personalised printed birthday/review postcards are automated services that are
delivered on behalf of the adviser.

It generates 14 messages per annum with little effort from the adviser. The web
profile and referral system work together to place the adviser favourably before a first
prospect meeting and is as easy as forwarding a link.

HQ’s financial checklist and the eOne-card system ensures that all reviews are
done with proper date-time stamped documentation. The prospecting problem is
sustainably solved, as trusted client relationships yield qualified referrals. This reduces
the high prospecting cost and frees up time for the adviser to focus on the client. The
daily use of HQ by the adviser generates activity data points.

The introduction of HQ EDGE analytics in 2021 provides advisers with support by
their mentors, coaches and leaders. With zero administrative overhead, HQ EDGE
analytics empower leaders with visibility to make data-driven decisions based on
facts, rather than assumptions. Strategic incentives can be implemented to drive
activities and personal weekly targets, together with incentives that are based upon
actual production.

Activity indicators in EDGE analytics that show up in red allow leaders to zero-in
quickly to extend support to advisers who may struggle from time to time. Additionally,
the sharing of such activity data provides advisers with an elevated awareness of their
own progress, allowing them to benchmark one another for more insightful learning
and growth.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 21

Digital Transformation of the Year

AIA Singapore

In 2021, AIA Singapore launched Xplore with Ally and iRecruit. Xplore with Ally is a
first-of-its-kind multi-needs financial calculator and is prompted by AIA insurance
representatives for potential prospects/customers who wish to have a preliminary
understanding of their needs and goals.

Xplore and Ally also acts as a digital platform for always-on lead generation
for prospecting of customers. The company was able successfully to generate
almost 1,000 leads within two months from the launch and converted customers to
approximately 300k annualised new premiums.

AIA has one of the largest tied-distribution channels and also achieved #1 MDRT
company in Singapore for the highest number of MDRT registered members, seven
times. In order to transform and streamline its tied-distribution recruitment process,
the company launched iRecruit.

The company recruits talented and committed insurance representatives and helps
them to connect more efficiently, by streamlining the recruitment process on one
single platform. iRecruit allows new insurance representatives to access a plethora
of resources and content to help them kickstart their career with AIA, and bridges the
gap between leader and insurance representative by allowing them to learn more
about each other. The tied agency recruitment application at AIA is now 100% via
iRecruit.

AIA’s MyAIA digital platform saw a 35% growth in users, with close to 700,000
users and improved login experience with integration to Singpass mobile. The
company’s HealthShield pre-authorisation and claims requests are fully assessed
using AI with 60% of claims paid within 24 hours.

AIA also launched eBenefits in 2021 that enabled easy access to medical eCards,
policy coverage, clinic locator and more for corporate customers. AIA’s super-app
iSMART continued to support its insurance representatives in the generation of close
to 200,000 leads in 2021.

22 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Inspirational Leader of the Year

Jong Thian Lung

AIA Bhd, Malaysia

In 2021, Mr Jong volunteered for MDRT by serving as the Annual Meeting PGA
Member Services committee chair, MDRT Foundation Global Gives Day co-chair
and MDRT ambassador. As the co-chair of Gives Day, he led a team of 100
volunteers and raised a record-breaking amount of around $500,000 for the MDRT
Foundation. He also volunteered his time serving as the coach to three study groups
by providing guidance to 16 aspirant MDRT advisers.

His proudest achievement in 2021 is his involvement with Bring It On (BIO), a
non-profit organisation he founded in 2019. BIO’s mission is to improving children
welfare, especially those from the low-income familes. He understands the importance
of education and the vicious cycle of those living in poverty. He has first-hand
experience as his sons were legally adopted from extremely poor families.
He believes that education is the way to break the poverty cycle.

Two of the projects under BIO is School is Fun and Learning is Fun. School is
Funfocuses on providing poor students with school supplies so they can feel good
about going back to school and be proud of themselves. One hundred sets of school
bags were donated to students from low-income families.

Learning is Fun is a collaborative project with another non-profit, the Breakthrough
Youth Centre, to provide free after school tuition to students from low-income family.

Another project that he is proud-of is Kuching Food Aid (KFA). Due to the
pandemic, many families were facing food shortage crisis. Since the inception, the
team has given 45,000 food aid boxes to qualify families within Sarawak. A food aid
box consists of basic food supply that will keep a family of four from hunger for a
week.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 23

Lifetime Achievement Award

Yung Wing Ki Samuel

AIA International, Hong Kong

Mr Yung joined AIA in 1982, became Regional Agent of the Year 1984 and
Regional Top New Supervisor of the Year 1985 and has been setting
company-wide records since then.
He has dedicated himself to elevating the image of the insurance industry. In 1991,
during his tenure as president of LUAHK, together with the presidents of the National
Life Underwriter Associations across the region, he co-founded the Asia Pacific Life
Insurance Council with the mission of advancing industry standards region-wide. He
was elected chairman 1995-1997.

He fostered LUAHK’s affiliation with MDRT to encourage improvements in
productivity and professionalism. Together with industry practitioners and the Life
Insurance Council, he advocated a self-regulation system and a register of insurance
intermediaries which was implemented in 1993. Since then, he has championed the
industry’s adoption of international qualifications of LIMRA, CFP and RFC in HK.
Contributions to education and community
In 1992, he initiated HK’s first professional life insurance training course co-organised
by CityU and LUAHK and served in governance boards in tertiary education institutes.
He is currently chairman, HK Examinations and Assessment Authority and council
member, HKUST.

While serving at the Community Chest in 1991-2001, he mobilised industry-wide
participation in charitable activities, notably helping to raise over $16m in 1995 and
heightening public respect for the profession. In recognition of his contributions to the
community, he was conferred the Medal of Honour in 2001 and Silver Bauhinia Star in
2011 and appointed Justice of the Peace in 2007 by the HKSAR government.
Positioning AIA for the future
In 2012, he was elected president of Life Underwriters & Sales Executives Board.
Established by AIA agency leaders as an advisory body to AIA Management on
various business aspects, LUSEB represents 2,400 district directors and 19,000
financial planners. As current LUSEB president, he continues to enhance the quality
and professionalism of agency force to support AIA’s future development.

24 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Insurance Agency Leader of the Year

Chan Kit Yan, Kit

FTLife Insurance Company Limited, Hong Kong

Ms Chan started her career as a life agent in 1988, became an agency leader
in 1995 and was appointed regional director in 2005. She currently leads
an agency comprising four senior and regional directors with over 450
professional agency leaders and agents.

Since the outbreak of pandemic in early 2020, she has embraced all the challenges
she has faced and has helped her agency managers and agents to continue
performing at their best while adapting to the requirements of the new business
environment – going online, shifting target markets and exploring new product
opportunities.

One of the highlights was the establishment of “Lifenjoys悠活” in 2021, a brand to
attract millennials to join as life agents and encourages them to own their career and
goals in FTLife.

As a result, she reached new heights of leadership performance in 2021 by
achieving agency sales growth of 28%, MDRT representation growth of 67%
and recruitment of 200 new agents, all of which culminated in her being crowned
Executive/Senior Regional Director of the Year (Champion) – the highest accolade
within FTLife to recognise agency management performance.

Despite her achievements, she is not content to rest on her laurels and actively
strives for self-improvement, having attained multiple professional qualifications,
including a master’s in insurance and financial planning.

She has also actively contributed to the industry and her company. She has served
on the GAMAHK board of directors since 2009 and became the president in 2016.
She introduced the Charity Basket Competition and several new awards to encourage
management excellence in the industry. At FTLife, she is serving in several business
advisory committees, and is one of the company’s Master Builders who share
leadership insights during in-house events and training courses.

With a heart to give back to society, she founded a volunteer team called “動力愛心
義工隊” in 2007 with the philosophy of ‘Lives Impacting Lives’ to help those in need.
The team now has over 100 volunteers and regularly serves society. In 2021, she and
the team took part in services to deliver anti-epidemic materials to people in need.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 25

Insurance Agent of the Year

Lau Ka Kui, Apollo

FTLife Insurance Company Limited, Hong Kong

Mr Lau started his career as a life agent at FTLife in 1989 and is currently a
senior regional director leading over 60 professional agency leaders and
agents.
Despite the pandemic, he achieved his record-high personal production
performance by achieving 1.5 times of TOT production in 2021, a 160% increase of
his 2020 performance. He attained TOT production in August.

His extraordinary sales performance in 2021 has crowned him Achiever of the Year
(Champion) and Case Achiever of the Year (Champion), which are the two highest
honours to recognise producers in FTLife. He sold over 200 cases in 2021 and won
Case Achiever of the Year (Champion) for four consecutive years.

He also attained “忠誠王”, the highest accolade in FTLife to recognise the best
performer with the highest level of loyalty to the company in 2021.

His loyalty and consistent performance has made him FTLife’s first choice of
nomination to the Insurance Agent of the Year of the 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents &
Advisers Awards 2022.

Sponsored by

26 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 27

Young Executive of the Year

Vindya Cooray

Union Assurance Plc, Sri Lanka

Ms Cooray began her working career in 2013 at John Keells Holdings (JKH)
where she became the youngest person to become a sector financial
controller at the age of 29. She was soon promoted to vice president, finance,
Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, JKH Leisure sector.

Since June 2021 she has been working as the chief bancassurance officer at Union
Assurance (UA). In her new role she has stitched up partnerships with Sampath, Pan
Asia and Standard Chartered and established Sri Lanka’s largest bancassurance
network with a footprint of 400 branches.

Despite lack of physical access to branches for six months in 2021, she helped
in revamping the company’s digital channel and activated it not only as a sales tool
but also as a lifestyle app for clients – better suiting customer expectations. She
also spearheaded the first-ever innovative public relations campaign along with
bank partners for increased customer awareness, unlocking the potential of UA’s
bancassurance solutions as the most visible provider on the island

She is passionate about inspiring individuals to reach their full potential with focus
on youth empowerment and gender equality. Under her leadership and stewardship,
the new bancassurance partnerships produced 67 MDRT members including 10 COT
members and 2 TOT members. Additionally, the new branches were able to create
employment opportunities for 275 employees.

In recognition of her leadership skills and passion for women’s empowerment she
was presented the JKH chairman’s award for DE&I. She is the recipient of the Jane M
Klausman women in business award and has also been bestowed the Vanithabimana
national award for financial management, which is a platform that recognises female
achievers breaking new ground and contributing to the local economy.

28 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Employee Benefits Consultant of the Year

Guntapon Artsaree

AIA Company Limited, Thailand

Mr Artsaree is a service-minded unit manager for AIA Thailand who always
offers his heartfelt services and prompt claim management to acquire new
clients. He currently has four insurance agents and five administrative staff in
his Bepro 27 team.

In 2021, he and his team members joined hands to deliver an impressive
performance of 20 group insurance policies with annualised new premium of
THB48.1m ($1.33m) and nearly 18,000 members under protection. He currently has
46 corporate clients with nearly 33,000 members covered by AIA group insurance
policies.

In that year, he also managed to achieve MDRT Top of the Table status, his second
consecutive year, as well as several internal awards, while leading one of his team
members to achieve MDRT status.

Despite the success he has had, he is always looking to set higher performance
benchmarks. For example, he aims to produce ANP of THB100m in 2022 which is
double the size of his 2021 production, and successfully ended the first quarter of
2022 with ANP of over THB30m.

On top of his consistent excellent performance, he makes sure to maintain the very
highest levels of service and dedication to corporate solutions and his clients.

He created a LINE Group for members of each company to directly submit claims
or ask about any concerns at their convenience. This communication channel allows
him to handle claims effectively and promptly and provides HR clearer pictures of
claims for strategising to reduce claims ratio and absenteeism successfully.

He analyses client companies’ claim reports on a quarterly basis and if the report
demonstrated a high claims ratio, he would investigate the sicknesses and concerns
of the majority and the root causes, then propose health and wellbeing activities that
are specially designed to resolve their concerns and reduce claim ratios to the HR of
the company.

He encourages CS agents to propose life-in-group or health riders to customers to
ensure that the insurance policies members currently hold are adequate to meet the
potential risk and are in accordance with thier current medical expenses.

He also makes sure to give back to society by donating money, medical equipment
and necessities to hospitals, temples, underprivilege children and elderly people
across Thailand.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 29

Executive Champion of the Year

Wong Sze Keed

AIA Singapore

Ms Wong understands that mental health is an important aspect that is often
overlooked and takes a keen interest to ensure it is part of the company’s
focus. AIA Singapore is the first insurer to introduce mental wellbeing
coverage and continued to expand on these initiatives.

She always has the interest of her customers at heart. At the core of her mandate
are three principles underpinning her vision and all her decisions are based on them:
• The future of insurance (and finance) is about making it simpler and more enjoyable

to plan for the future
• The future of health prioritises holistic wellness where mental wellbeing is important
• The future of work is about being confident in making personal work-life choices

She has made it her mission to mobilise a new people-first mandate and her
leadership has delivered impressive results.

She expanded AIA’s health and life insurance business to target high-net worth
individuals, with AIA’s ‘Wealthbeing by AIA’ proposition.

She catalysed investment in technology, digital and analytics capabilities to stay
ahead of the digital curve by innovating and empowering insurance representatives
with robust digital tools that also deliver personalised advice, service and care
experiences.

She made tangible commitments to environmental protection for a more sustainable
future for all – In 2021, AIA Singapore pledged S$5m to the National Parks Board’s
registered charity, Garden City Fund, to plant trees in Singapore’s parks and nature
reserves over the next 5 years.

Stepped up commitment in giving back to the community through the launch of AIA
Better Lives Fund to raise funds for underprivileged children and their family, toward
creating greater access and opportunities for education, growth and development.

She accelerated technological, digital and analytical efforts to support insurance
representatives and as a result of her efforts.

30 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

Insurance Company of the Year

Manulife Vietnam

The pandemic challenged the insurer’s resilience, however, it also reinforced its
commitment to support its customers, advisers and the community at large. It
was aided in this by its strong digital foundation and hence not only maintained
its service standards across the country but posted excellent performance during
2021 despite the pandemic.

The credit for this achievement goes to the insurer’s digitally equipped and
professional agency force, which was the main driver of its success. The company
grew its agency force by 11.5% during 2021.

This helped the company to lead the market in terms of first-year premiums with
39% year-on-year growth. The over 60,000 agency-force contributed over 70% of the
total premium and 58% of the first-year premiums. This strong success reaffirmed
Manulife’s unwavering commitment to invest in its advisers’ careers and development.
It also ranked the first in Vietnam in MDRT 2021 rankings.

Manulife launched MaxX D mobile application to transform advisers’ ways of
working. The app is considered a virtual personal assistant for agents and offers them
their business data together with features such as target setting, activities planning
and tracking, sales and recruitment funnels, hierarchy and performance analytics and
all in a user-friendly interface.

MaxX D is complemented by digital servicing tools such as ePayment, eClaims,
Electronic Point of Sale, eContract, providing both customers and advisers with much
needed convenience, speed, safety and continuity.

The launch of its Shop eCommerce platform in 2021 further strengthened its omni-
channel approach and amplified its online success story through lead generation

The insurer’s Unassigned Customer Management programme, which utilises data
analytics and AI application to connect potential and unassigned customers with
advisers, helps maximise the opportunity for up-sell and cross-sell and ultimately
generated more than $1m in APE for 2021. In addition, Manulife Vietnam’s free
monthly livestream series in 2021 attracted 1.5m viewers and the performance greatly
supported agents with sale activities and leads.

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 31

The finalists

Rookie Insurance Agent of the Year

Ng Tin Yee, Tiffany Ng Tze Chiew, Diana Nguyen Duc Duong Thet Htar Aung Varisa Maneetavat

FTLife Insurance Company AIA International, Manulife Vietnam AIA Myanmar Krungthai-AXA Life
Limited, Hong Kong Hong Kong Insurance PCL, Thailand

Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year

Chan Fun Nicholas Chang Jun Chin Chau Pok Him, Harry Priyanka Siyal Tran Thi Hai Yen

Manulife (International) AIA Bhd, Malaysia AIA International, Tata AIA Life Insurance Manulife Vietnam
Limited, Hong Kong Hong Kong Co Ltd., India

Financial Adviser of the Year

Ang Yew Shen Aurawanwalai Yau Kwan, Vicky Lucas Chan Ngiam Mei Shean
Eakwaree (Maple) Michelle
Manulife Financial The Hongkong and AIA Financial Advisers,
Advisers, Singapore Krungthai Bank, Thailand Shanghai Banking Singapore Great Eastern Financial
Corporation Limited, Advisers, Singapore

Hong Kong

Employee Benefits Consultant of the Year

Chan Lai Kwan Gan Chin Soon Geraldine Tan Guntapon Artsaree Jasmine Lily Ho
Lorenda Wei Fang
AIA Bhd, Malaysia AIA Company Limited, AIA Bhd, Malaysia
AIA International, AIA Singapore Thailand
Hong Kong

32 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

The finalists

Bank Partner of the Year

Public Bank Berhad, Malaysia Techcombank, Vietnam The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited, Hong Kong

Digital Agent/Agency Leader of the Year

Akhtar Syamir Bin Andy Peh Jaslyn Ng Miliana Marten Thanathon
Nor Azman Karnjanisakorn
Professional Investment Prudential Assurance PT Prudential Life
AIA Bhd, Malaysia Advisory Services Pte Ltd, Company, Singapore Assurance, Indonesia AIA Company Limited,
Thailand
Singapore

InsurTech of the Year

EAB Systems (Hong Kong) Limited Heartzmail Pte Ltd, Singapore Surer, Singapore

Digital Transformation of the Year

AIA Singapore AIA Bhd, Malaysia FWD Insurance Singapore

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 33

The finalists

Inspirational Agent/Leader of the Year

Jong Thian Lung Mohamad Manmohan Nethan Chew Sunny Yap Tan Lay Seong
Bin Abdullah Jing Xiang
AIA Bhd, Malaysia AIA Financial Advisers, Great Eastern Life
AIA Bhd, Malaysia Manulife Financial Singapore Assurance (Malaysia)
Advisers, Singapore
Berhad

Lifetime Achievement Award

Mak Wing Kwong Tony Susan de Guzman Yung Wing Ki Samuel

AIA International, Sun Life Grepa Financial, AIA International,
Hong Kong Inc., Philippines Hong Kong

Insurance Agency Leader of the Year

Chan Kit Yan, Kit Chen Lei Eunice Yuen He Xiulin Lim Meow Lih

FTLife Insurance Company AIA China Prudential Assurance AIA China Great Eastern Life
Limited, Hong Kong Company Singapore Ltd Assurance (Malaysia)

Berhad

Insurance Agent of the Year

Ambagaha Hewage Lau Ka Kui, Apollo Laura Hoi Xue-Fen Miliana Marten Shu Min Chen
Sajeewa Pushpitha
FTLife Insurance Prudential Assurance PT Prudential Life Nan Shan Life Insurance
Softlogiclife Insurance Company Limited, Company Singapore Assurance, Indonesia Co., Ltd, Taiwan
PLC, Sri Lanka
Hong Kong

34 | 7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022

The finalists

Young Executive of the Year

Lin, Yun-Te Vindya Cooray

Cathay Life Insurance, Union Assurance PLC,
Taiwan Sri Lanka

Employee Benefits Provider Of The Year

AIA China AIA International, Hong Kong AIA Singapore

Nan Shan Life Insurance Co., Ltd, Taiwan

Insurance Company of the Year

AIA Singapore Pte Ltd Cathay Life Insurance, Taiwan Manulife Vietnam

7th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2022 | 35

Roll of Honour

Rookie Insurance Agent of the Year

Thet Htar Aung
AIA Myanmar

Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year

Tran Thi Hai Yen
Manulife Vietnam

Financial Adviser of the Year

Aurawanwalai Eakwaree (Maple)
Krungthai Bank, Thailand

Employee Benefits Provider of the Year

AIA Singapore

Bank Partner of the Year

The Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Hong Kong

Digital Leader of the Year

Jaslyn Ng
Prudential Assurance Company, Singapore

Insurtech of the Year

Heartzmail Pte Ltd, Singapore

Digital Transformation of the Year

AIA Singapore

Inspirational Leader of the Year

Jong Thian Lung
AIA Bhd, Malaysia

Lifetime Achievement Award

Yung Wing Ki Samuel
AIA International, Hong Kong

Insurance Agency Leader of the Year

Chan Kit Yan, Kit
FTLife Insurance Company Limited, Hong Kong

Insurance Agent of the Year

Lau Ka Kui, Apollo
FTLife Insurance Company Limited, Hong Kong

Young Executive of the Year

Vindya Cooray
Union Assurance Plc, Sri Lanka

Employee Benefits Consultant of the Year

Guntapon Artsaree
AIA Company Limited, Thailand

Executive Champion of the Year

Wong Sze Keed
AIA Singapore

Insurance Company of the Year

Manulife Vietnam