RHB Insurance sees big potential in Sandakan

Sandakan, Dec 10, 2005: RHB Insurance Bhd (“RHB Insurance”) hopes to tap into the large plantations sector in the region surrounding Sandakan with the opening of its new branch here.

The company sees a high demand for crop insurance as well as marine insurance coming from this sector, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Koh Heng Kong.

There are more than 1,000 plantations of various sizes around Sandakan, most of them planted with oil palm. “We foresee the demand for crop insurance will increase significantly over the years,” Mr Koh said.

Crop insurance is extended to farmers and plantation owners to cover them against crop failure resulting from various factors including unforeseen weather conditions, fire and other disasters.

Another insurance product that is expected to appeal to the plantation owners is marine insurance. This provides coverage for goods in transit from the seller to the buyer.

“After the oil palm has been harvested and sent to the mills, the oil extracted will have to be transported to buyers in other parts of Malaysia or abroad. Insurance coverage is required for the palm oil during its transit from miller to buyer. We can provide such coverage,” Mr Koh added.

Other products that will be suitable for the plantations sector are insurance coverage for mills and foreign workers.

The insurance for mills protects millers from losses that may be incurred as a result of mishaps such as floods or fire. The foreign workers insurance enables employers to provide insurance coverage for their foreign workers, who make up a large proportion of the plantation workforce in Malaysia.

Mr Koh said many of RHB Insurance products are currently available online if customers are unable to visit any of its branches.

For instance, the company recently launched eMarine to enable customers to obtain their marine insurance through the Internet.

Other products that are also available on the Internet are eForeignWorkers, eTravel and eMotor.

These products are available on the company’s enterprise insurance management solution (EIMS), a portal that can be accessed by RHB Insurance’s many agents.

“The EIMS is a very efficient portal for insurance intermediaries, like the agents,” Mr Koh said. “It enables the agents to process a customer’s application for insurance coverage faster and in a more efficient manner.”

“For instance, when a customer purchases motor insurance, a printout of the cover note can be obtained on the spot,” he added.

Apart from the plantations sector, RHB Insurance also sees significant growth for insurance products from other areas.

“For instance, higher employment rate and more robust economic activities also mean greater wealth for the people. With increased wealth and affluence, the demand for insurance coverage automatically rises,” Mr Koh said.

He sees a rise in the demand for products such as home insurance and motor insurance as well as health and medical insurance.

On the new branch in Sandakan, Mr Koh said it would serve mainly as a sales and marketing centre for RHB Insurance. “However, we will be happy to entertain any customer who wants us to help with his claims or other matters,” he added.

While branches can continue to deal with customers’ claims, the processes and documentation are centralised at the head office in Kuala Lumpur.

The Sandakan branch will be headed by Mr Lai Kian Hing as branch manager and he will have three others to assist him.

Mr Koh said more products were already in the pipeline and would be rolled out in the near future to meet all customer needs.

RHB Insurance, whose client base in Sabah is expanding quickly, now has closely to 50 agents throughout the state to service its clients.

RHB Insurance, which has more than four decades of experience in the general insurance sector, has gained a reputation for its fast turnaround times for inquiries and its impressive claims record. It is a niche player in the Malaysian insurance market, offering a wide range of solutions tailored to meet the demands of a vast clientele.

RHB Insurance’s main products are in the property and casualty classes, which together account for more than 70% of the total insurance underwritten by the company.

They include property insurance for homeowners as well as businesses, personalized insurance such as personal accident and travel insurance. Others are automobile insurance, marine and transit insurance, liability insurance, engineering insurance, pecuniary insurance and group insurance.