Powering Prudential’s new purpose-driven strategy

Even with a 175-year legacy and a global customer base exceeding 18 million – including over a million customers in Singapore – Prudential is not resting on its laurels. Instead, the insurer is harnessing the power of technology to cater to the evolving needs of today’s customers. Affirming its commitment to securing the financial well-being of present and future generations, Prudential has unveiled its new strategy and purpose – For Every Life, For Every Future.

Said Mr Dennis Tan, CEO of Prudential Singapore, and managing director of Prudential plc's strategic business group, including Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam: “For Every Life speaks to our ambition to meet the under-served needs of potentially four billion people across our markets in Asia and Africa. For Every Future describes our intention to add value to the wider community, for a more sustainable and inclusive future.” 

To realise this vision, Prudential is committed to building capabilities across three strategic pillars: Customer, distribution and health, with technology and data as key enablers.

TECHNOLOGY AT THE CORE OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Noting that today’s customer prioritises experiences over products, Mr Tan shared that Prudential aims to gain a competitive advantage by delivering exceptional customer experiences. “We are crafting a seamless end-to-end journey through a unified, scalable technology platform,” he explained. “For instance, with PruServices, our customer portal that is accessible through both our online platform and the Pulse app, we are increasingly able to offer self-service options for simple enquiries at the customer’s convenience, anytime, anywhere.” 

Prudential Singapore has a rich history of leveraging technology to streamline and enhance the insurance experience for its customers. The company employs a customer segmentation model that uses data analytics to derive insights and deliver personalised services. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) is deployed to automate tasks such as data verification and digitalisation, resulting in quicker customer onboarding and servicing.

In 2022, the company introduced an AI talkbot specifically designed to engage with customers in a human-like manner. This talkbot is proficient at listening, understanding and responding, and is employed for service calls to ensure prompt premium payments from customers to ensure that they remain protected.

FUTURE-PROOFING THE AGENCY MODEL

Technology underpins the revamp of Prudential’s distribution strategy, where the objective is to support financial consultants in their role as trusted representatives. The company also focuses heavily on training and development, complemented by digital tools that enable the financial consultants to maximise the productivity of their interactions with customers.

“Insurance is a people business and technology is an enabler for our financial consultants,” said Mr Tan. “Digital tools such as customer relationship management platform PRUForce@Pulse and remote video servicing solution PRURemote Advice (PRA) empower them to engage with customers digitally.”

PRA has a proven track record: Seven in 10 sales were closed through this channel during Singapore’s circuit breaker period – the city-state’s version of a COVID-19 lockdown – in 2020. In 2022, when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, 45 per cent of sales were closed via PRA. This trend continues in 2023 – a testament to how it has become an essential aspect of the way Prudential engages its customers.

AUTOMATING CUSTOMER JOURNEYS

Prudential’s health and protection businesses have already established a strong presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore, and the company believes there are substantial opportunities to grow its footprint in other markets. 

To drive efficiency in Prudential’s health business model, automation, specifically in the form of straight-through-processing (STP) plays a crucial role. For instance, when a Prudential Singapore customer submits a medical invoice, optical character recognition technology is used to extract the information, which is then combined with other relevant data points and passed on to an AI model. “A decision will be made by the AI model and our STP validation rules,” explained Mr Tan. “If the claim clears the STP validation, payment is automatically triggered to the customer.” 

This process significantly reduces the need for manual review, shortens the payment processing time and minimises the likelihood of human errors, enhancing the overall experience for employees and customers alike.

To combat claim fraud, Prudential employs AI through its PruDART (Data Assisted Risk Tagging) solution, which scores the probability of fraud in claims transactions. Claims tagged as “high risk” will undergo manual review. 

As Prudential continues to embrace a technology-driven approach, the strategic utilisation of AI and other cutting-edge technologies will be the linchpin for simplifying and expanding customer access to its health and financial solutions. “A strong technology platform is paramount in delivering superior customer and distribution experiences,” said Mr Tan. “It is even more critical today, given the pace of change with developments in AI.” 

Visit Prudential to learn more about its new strategy and purpose. 

Learn more about the future of finance at the Singapore FinTech Festival from Nov 15 to 17, 2023.