OCBC ties up with Great Eastern to offer bancassurance products

OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd aims to be among the leading players in the bancassurance market following its partnership deal with Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd.
It aims to capture a 10%-15% share of the regular life insurance market in order to become a significant player in the field.
However, it did not reveal its current market share, saying that there were no accurate figures for the segment at the moment. OCBC which started operations in the bancassurance field under several partnerships six years ago, will market two Great Eastern bancassurance products, MaxMoney Plus and MaxMoney Back, beginning today (yesterday), said OCBC Bank director and chief executive officer, Jeffrey Chew Sun Teong.
He said this during a press conference following the launch of the products in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. MaxMoney Plus is expected to generate RM12 million in premiums by year-end, while MaxMoney Back is expected to garner about RM6 million.
Another product is expected to be launched next month. Meanwhile, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd director and chief executive officer Koh Yaw Hui, said the tie-up will help Great Eastern to achieve its target of total weighted new business premiums of RM800 million this year. He said with a network of 29 branches throughout Malaysia, OCBC Bank's ability to mine its customer base rendered significant market potential for Great Eastern making personal visits to bank branches was still common.
Koh said the bancassurance arrangement with OCBC Bank was made possible through a combination of both the government's recent liberalisation initiatives and a strong partnership forged between the two companies over the past seven years.
In Malaysia, bancassurance forms about half of the new premiums collected annually in the life insurance market with more than 90% from single premium, he said.
He said Great Eastern also planned to expand its network of branches. In the Klang Valley, which contributes 38% to Great Eastern's business, there are plans to set up a big branch office in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, he said. Its presence is more focussed in Kuala Lumpur at the moment. It also expects to open up branches in the states. — Bernama