AIG focuses on innovation to meet customers' demands

One of the largest international general insurers operating in Hong Kong today is AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the global insurance organization. The company combines local knowledge, global experience and financial strength to offer a wide range of general insurance products aimed at meeting the needs of consumers and multinational organizations alike.

AIG has a mission – ‘AIG Makes the World a Safer Place’
AIG is increasing its efforts to improve driver education and road safety, while leveraging data-driven insights and years of claims experience to understand why road accidents happen. Having obtained intimate knowledge of road safety challenges present in the approximately 130 countries and jurisdictions where AIG operates means clients can benefit from AIG’s considerable expertise.

One of the key initiatives is AIG’s role as a founding partner of ‘Together for Safer Roads’, an innovative coalition that brings together global private-sector companies to focus on improving road safety and reducing deaths and injuries by road traffic collisions.

Beginning in 2014, AIG has been promoting road safety in China with a large, specially modified truck that traveled throughout Guangdong province, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The tour offers participants educational and entertaining activities focused on improving road safety awareness.

These activities include driving simulators that allow participants to evaluate an individual’s driving safety level, an impaired driving experience to educate participants on the dangers of drink-driving and a seat belt simulator that recreates the impact of a collision when driving at a rate of 10 kilometers an hour, and will allow consumers to realize the benefits of wearing a seat belt. To date, the tour has attracted tens of thousands of people, the press, government bodies, and various large corporations.

Innovation is key at AIG
For a long time, AIG has been recognized for its focus on innovation. In Hong Kong, AIG has just launched a new endorsement on their Directors & Officers policy that will provide cover to both the organization and the claimant in the case of an investigation, a ground breaking first for Asia Pacific.

Another example of AIG’s innovation is the AIG Multinational Program Design Tool which guides users through the fundamental aspects of multi-national program design, and provides a customized and detailed report on where and why coverage from a locally licensed insurer needs to be considered. Tailored to meet users’ exposures, preferences, sensitivities, and needs, recommendations are formed by over 90 years of AIG experience, individual risk tolerance, and local market coverage information across over 200 countries and five major business lines.

Understanding risk and the environment
Companies need an insurer that has experience of dealing with the types of challenges that businesses face going forward in an ever-changing business environment. Multi-national companies in particular will increasingly work across borders, and will face new exposures as a result. Cyber and reputational risk are two fast-growing areas of increasing concern. To counter these risks, AIG brings to the Hong Kong market its wealth of knowledge from operating in insurance markets across the globe.

To combat the fast evolution of cyber risk, AIG’s CyberEdge solution provides an effective response to growing cyber-crime threats and data breaches. The company launched its first cyber product in Asia in 2012, clients began to enquire about property damage or people being injured or hurt as a result of a cyber-claim. The company’s response to this demand was to introduce CyberEdge PC, an excess, difference-in-conditions policy providing customers with express cyber coverage for bodily injury, property damage and financial loss arising from a security failure. CyberEdge PC is the first offering of its kind in the Hong Kong market.

Further, to address the rapid growth in property and infrastructure development across the globe, AIG has expanded its property insurance capacity to up to US$1.5 billion for highly protected risks.

Making a difference in the communities
The company is committed to giving back to the communities it serves through programs and partnerships that focus on safety, security and disaster relief. Globally AIG matched more than US$7 million in donations made by its employees to charitable organizations in 2013. It donates more than US$15 million a year to charities around the world.

In Hong Kong, AIG has donated HK$500,000 to support Mission Possible, a charity established by the Peter Bennett Foundation, to address Hong Kong’s most pressing social issues. The donation was made as part of AIG’s Hong Kong Sevens corporate project which provides a meaningful association between the Hong Kong Sevens, charitable awareness and giving.

AIG has also introduced the ‘Volunteer Time Off’ program whereby employees may take two days off per year and join company-sponsored or personal volunteer activities during working hours.

Embracing Diversity
For years, diversity and inclusion have been a focus at AIG. The company is an equal opportunities employer which hires physically disabled employees and is also committed to seeking out ethnic minority populations in its analyst programs. The company also supports the local community by sponsoring a scholarship program of the Chinese University of Hong Kong which rewards physically disabled and ethnic minority students for their academic excellence.

Rudi Spaan, President and CEO of AIG in Hong Kong says, “Diversity and inclusion are important because these are the hallmarks of a successful company nowadays. Being an equal opportunity employer, we appreciate the diversity and cultural competence of our employees, and are committed to building an inclusive, respectful and productive workplace.”