Dah Sing Life to expand the critical illness insurance unit

The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dah Sing Financial Holdings, assigns Chief Executive Officer Eleonore Chow to lead business expansion.

Dah Sing Life Assurance Company Limited (“Dah Sing Life”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited, on Monday unveiled its plan to grow and expand its current insurance business by providing comprehensive insurance and wealth management solutions. Three key product initiatives include developing a series of critical illness products initially with the DSL New Lady CI Protection Plan covering more than 50 medical conditions, planning to launch Investment-Linked Assurance Scheme (ILAS) products targeting Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (“CIES”) applicants and expanding its RMB product series.

Dah Sing Life also announced that Chief Executive Officer Eleonore Chow has joined the company in that role starting in August 2010 after she was being appointed as Executive Director in July 2010. An industry veteran with solid experience in managing agency sales distribution and almost 20 years of practice in the Greater China region, Eleonore brings considerable experience to the insurance firm which has a dual sales distribution model – providing life insurance solutions through its own agency force and bank’s retail network.

Eleonore is spearheading the firm’s expansion plan and new product development as well as rejuvenating the Dah Sing Life brand.

“Dah Sing Life is entering a new and exciting phase in Hong Kong. As we have celebrated our 20th anniversary last year, during our long history we have been recognised by generations of Hong Kong people for delivering superior service and products. With a strong brand name and the full backing from our parent company, we expect 2011 to be a year of transformation for Dah Sing Life. We are adding product offerings to provide total insurance-based protection to meet our customers’ ever-evolving financial planning needs.” commented Eleonore Chow, Chief Executive Officer of Dah Sing Life.

A key initiative in 2011 is a new series of critical illness protection plans designed to address the increasing need for and awareness of sufficient illness coverage. The first product is dedicated to women aged between 16 to 65. With a monthly premium starting from HK$432, the DSL New Lady CI Protection Plan covers more than 50 medical conditions and comes with a special “Sweet 16” promotion, from 8 March 2011 to 30 April 2011. Under “Sweet 16”, eligible customers will enjoy a special bonus, which is calculated with reference to the insured’s age as if she is age 16, to encourage women to take better care of themselves and their loved ones.

In 2010 Dah Sing Life blazed a trail in the market with one of the first RMB savings protection products – the “Smart Gain RMB Plan” -- enjoying overwhelming success. In 2011, Dah Sing Life plans to expand its RMB product series by launching a new endowment plan to suit different customer needs.

“As inflation concerns take centre stage this year, we aim to provide protection plans that help policyholders manage risks and meet their short-term and long-term wealth accumulation goals, according to a Dah Sing Life report.

Dah Sing Life will continuously evaluate market conditions to ensure we address the needs of Hong Kong customers with a set of carefully conceived relevant products to help reaching their life protection, savings, health and retirement goals. We are also actively working to launch more “first-in-market” products, including investment-linked insurance products eligible under CIES. We believe the Dah Sing Life brand and our dual sales distribution model positions us well to gain market share as we expand our business,” Eleonore added.

The Company is investing resources to further raise its brand profile and support its recruitment efforts. It plans to increase its agency force by 50% in 2011 and establish a recruitment and training centre within first half of 2011 to enhance training to the sales force in order to ensure professionalism in their service to customers. The Company is going to tap the latest technology trend by improving its sales tools with iPad applications. Guided by a strong commitment to client service and excellence, the Company plans to leverage the social media platform, Facebook, by launching its own promotional page to reach new customer segments so as to enhance customer communications. Elsewhere on the technology front, a new life system replacement project is in progress which will enable Dah Sing Life to bring new products to market efficiently, enhance operational efficiency and provide a better user experience.

A strong supporter of the “Hong Kong Spirit”, Dah Sing Life unveiled a new branding campaign last year aimed at encouraging Hong Kong people to strive their best to achieve their full potential – “Can Do Hong Kong Spirit”. “As a first step to support the ‘Hong Kong Spirit’, we have collaborated closely with the creative industries in Hong Kong to bring their ideas into our marketing campaign,” Eleonore concluded. The Company also plans to continue its successful branding campaign with a second wave in the upcoming second quarter.