Behind AIG Thailand’s digital ecosystem

Picture this: An agent in Thailand gets a question from a prospective customer about one of AIG's insurance policies. Without having to hop on the phone, she responds using a digital portal that allows her to instantly draw up a personalized quote or offer a new insurance policy quickly and seamlessly – whether it’s for a small business owner in search of property coverage or an individual looking for auto insurance. For the agent, this is empowering because she no longer has to wait very long to respond to customers, and therefore, creates a better customer experience.

This tool is called myAIG portal, which AIG Thailand has enhanced for agents as part of a broader multi-faceted plan to improve the local focus on customer service and distribution partners. This includes upgrading the myAIG portal as part of a series of initiatives to strategically position AIG Thailand for sustainable growth in the years ahead.

By investing in new technologies and integrating customer-centric tools into the business, AIG Thailand President and CEO Isorasak Thesratanavong expects to help agents enhance the customer experience. This is a critical area because the company in Thailand is heavily focused on personal insurance lines, selling most of its policies through independent agents.

“AIG Thailand is transforming,” says Isorasak, who previously headed AIG Thailand’s consumer insurance business before rejoining the company in 2019. “We are building upon our relationships with our customers and distribution partners and going through our journey together.”

The changing needs of independent agents

Although the adoption rate of the myAIG portal by agents was slow at first, the majority of AIG Thailand’s personal insurance agents have since adopted the tool as the global pandemic drove Thailand to operate remotely like most other parts of the world.

Isorasak is attuned to the changing needs of independent agents. Because many agents work with other insurers, it is imperative that the team differentiates themselves from competitors by innovating products and services that make it easier for agents to distribute policies and for customers to access AIG’s services in the region. By using AIG Thailand’s digital portal, agents can get responses to customer’s questions almost instantaneously, enabling them to process new business faster.

In addition, the team is thinking ahead to appeal to the next generation of agents. This year, AIG Thailand added an online payment option to the digital portal as more customers and clients use debit and credit cards to make premium payments.

“As we look at the future, we need to adapt and create a digital experience that’s most helpful to our agents, as well as our customers,” Isorasak says.

Thinking ahead about the next generation

Last year, for example, AIG unveiled a mobile claims application that enables personal auto claims to be filed through smartphones. At the time of launch, this approach was unique in Thailand, where insurers typically send loss surveyors to assess damage in cases where traffic accidents are minor.

So now when customers call in a claim, they can use AIG Thailand’s mobile app to speak with an assessor, who can then guide the customer to assess the damage and document the details. This tool helps streamline the claims process and makes it an easier and more flexible experience for both the customer and assessor.

Since AIG Thailand introduced the app, results from customer surveys suggest that most users are highly satisfied with the app, giving it the top score based on a five-point scale.

Such technologies and others will continue to play an increasingly important role in the future of AIG Thailand to anticipate the diverse needs of local customers and partners.