In June 2009, two elite companies – Fubon Life and ING Life Taiwan – officially merged to become Fubon Life, in one of the most significant M&A projects in the Taiwanese life insurance industry. Before the deal was made official, the management team of both companies had developed a clear and definite strategy of business consolidation. The new Fubon Life announced immediately after the merger that because human resources are the most important capital for the company, it would be retaining all its employees. The company also actively informed its clients of the merger and ensured their rights and benefits would not be affected.
In the meantime, the management team consolidated the strengths from both sides of the merger and ensured they complemented each other in terms of human resource, product portfolio, customer service and distribution channels. It is because of these efforts that the company could maximise the operational benefits and demonstrate synergy faster than any other merger in Asia.
This synergy manifested itself in the company’s 2010 results. The first year premium income reached TWD 310.2bn ($10.4bn), a growth of 50.8 percent from 2009. The market share of Fubon Life moved up to 26.7 percent. Its earnings of TWD 8.62bn ($288.2m) and EPS of TWD 5.03 ($0.17) both topped the life insurance industries in Taiwan. The total asset value also increased significantly after the merger, growing 23 percent to reach TWD 1.62trn ($54.2bn) by the end of 2010. This strong performance was widely recognised in the industry, helping Fubon Life win the title of Most Admired Insurance Company in 2009 and 2010.
Comprehensive service philosophy
Fubon Life is founded on a customer-oriented philosophy to provide considerate and comprehensive service to its customers. To further improve its service quality, Fubon Life customer call centre has led the industry by introducing a 24/7 manned phone answering service. It also launched an internet phone service to serve the growing online customer population.
To integrate the sales systems of the two merging companies and improve service efficiency, Fubon Life launched the Fubon House project. These one-stop service centres incorporate a sales management system, customer service centre, training facilities and other corporate functions such as banking, securities and property and casualty insurance in the same office building for the convenience and benefit of customers. As of December 2010, more than 90 Fubon Houses have been established around the country to provide a localised service to customers.
Evolving products
In light of the aging society and the decreasing birth and marriage rates, Fubon Life has developed a variety of innovative insurance products to meet new market demand. In addition to basic life insurance, health and casualty insurance products, Fubon Life has introduced a series of protective insurance products such as surgical insurance, female life insurance, and major disease, specific disease and injury riders to help its clients create a comprehensive safety net.
Fubon Life also offers traditional foreign currency insurance policies and innovative investment-linked insurance products to fulfil the demands of its customers. Through the balanced development of tied agents, bancassurance and alternatives, Fubon Life can not only ensure its competitiveness, but also allow customers of different segments or regions access to its diversified product portfolio and service in a more convenient way.
A CSR role model
Fubon Taipei Marathon has become one of the largest marathon events in the world. It not only enjoys an attendance of more than 100,000 people, but also attracts champions of city marathons around the world to come to Taipei for the event.
In addition to promoting healthy exercise, Fubon Life has devoted significant effort to disaster relief projects, care for underprivileged children, and the promotion of cultural activities. After the Japanese earthquake in March, Fubon encouraged its employees to donate one day’s income to help the victims rebuild their homeland. Fubon Life therefore not only performed well in corporate earning and customer satisfaction, but also won numerous recognitions in Taiwan.
Aggressive expansion overseas
Fubon FHC, the parent company of Fubon Life, has been operating in the Taiwan market for 50 years. It has subsidiaries in banking, life insurance, property insurance and securities to offer a comprehensive and diversified financial product and service portfolio. The company has expanded overseas to Hong Kong, the United States, Vietnam and Mainland China with total assets of more than TWD 3.49trn ($116.7bn). In Taiwan, Fubon FHC has topped all listed financial holding companies in profitability in 2009 and 2010.
In addition to the continual development in the Taiwan market, Fubon Life is actively expanding its business into overseas markets with great potential, such as China and Vietnam. The company’s subsidiaries – Fubon Life Vietnam and Fubon Property Insurance (Xiamen) – and a branch office in Beijing have all been in operation since 2010. A joint venture with Nanjing Zijin Investment Co. is scheduled to be open in 2012.
