A Prudential Vietnam customer care centre in HCM City. Prudential reported excellent growth last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. — Photo courtesy of the company
Prudential Vietnam reaffirmed a year of sustainable growth and enhancements in its business operations in 2020, while continuing to prioritise the health and wealth of customers and contribute to the country’s economic development.
Prudential achieved total revenues of VND33.97 trillion (US$1.46 billion) last year, including VND24.7 trillion ($1.06 billion) from insurance activities, an increase of 12.6 per cent from 2019.
Revenues from new business were up 8.7 per cent to VND5.479 trillion.
In response to the pandemic, Prudential Vietnam made timely adjustments to its operations including adopting new ways of working and optimising costs, resulting in a rise in its pre-tax profits to VND2.8 trillion ($120.8 million).
Last year the company remained highly solvent, with a solvency margin of almost 140 per cent, underscoring its ability to safeguard customers’ finances.
The strong results also underscore Prudential’s continued strengths in its insurance business. The company reported total assets of VND124.28 trillion ($5.34 billion), an increase of 19.7 per cent from 2019, while its total investment capital in the economy was VND112.21 trillion ($4.8 billion), an increase of 19.5 per cent.
Last year Prudential’s investment activities continued to remain efficient. All six PRUlink funds achieved good returns despite the unfavourable economic climate.
The PRUlink Vietnam Equity Fund, managed by Eastspring Investments, the asset management arm of Prudential, achieved the highest return of 16.4 per cent (after deducting the fund management fee), followed by the PRUlink Growth Fund, the PRUlink Balance Fund and the PRUlink Stable Fund with 16 per cent, 14.7 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively.
Similarly, Prudential Vietnam’s Universal life fund also generated good returns of 5-6.5 per cent.
Claims settlement 30 per cent of industry’s
Prudential Vietnam paid more than VND6.765 trillion ($291.8 million) in insurance claims last year, an increase of 8.1 per cent from 2019 and accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the payouts made by the entire industry last year.
Also in the past year Prudential Vietnam rolled out several initiatives to digitise its processes and further enhance the customer experience. All customer touchpoints from consultation and underwriting to claims submission were digitised to ensure the customer experience is safe and thorough, especially during the pandemic.
Nearly 100 per cent of insurance applications and more than 70 per cent of claims were submitted online in 2020.
In May 2020, as part of its efforts to leverage digital technology to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone, Prudential Vietnam launched its artificial intelligence-powered health and wellness app, Pulse by Prudential.
As the first app of its kind to offer holistic health management, Pulse serves as a 24/7 partner to users, empowering them to take control of their personal health and wellbeing any time and anywhere.
By the end of March 2021 Pulse had been downloaded over four million times in Vietnam and continues to evolve with new, value-added features and functions.
In 2020 Prudential Vietnam continued to garner recognition from the industry and was ranked second in the ‘Top 10 Brands with Best Customer Experience’ based on a customer experience survey conducted by KPMG.
Investment in the community sustainable development
In 2020 Prudential continued to demonstrate its commitment to the sustainable development of communities by undertaking activities in three core areas - education, health and safety -- taking its total community spending in the decade between 2011 and 2020 to more than VND205 billion ($8.8 million).
For the health pillar, beyond donating medical equipment, medical masks and anti-bacterial hand sanitisers to 14 COVID-19 frontline hospitals and as giving rice and other necessities to disadvantaged households in central Viet Nam, Prudential also undertook the ‘Rice ATM - Giving love’ programme to support disadvantaged households in several provinces across the country.
For education and safety, Prudential, through the ‘SAFE STEPS’ programme, provided over 2,100 students in Bac Giang and Dak Lak provinces with standard helmets and training in road safety knowledge and skills.
It implemented the ‘Cha-Ching Curriculum’ to instil key money management skills in children at 72 primary schools.
Phuong Tien Minh, the company’s CEO, said: “Prudential Vietnam’s top priorities continue to be the health and wealth of our customers while maintaining efficient business operations and sustainable growth.
“With our strategic initiatives in product diversification and strong investment in technologies, people and the sustainable development of the community, Prudential Vietnam always reinforces our core purpose of helping the Vietnamese people get the most out of life." — VNS