Cigna in innovative new sales channel

Last year, the company recorded growth of more than 40 per cent in its telemarketing operations.

In its latest move, Cigna yesterday began DRTV advertising to promote its products. The launch makes it the first insurance company in Thailand to use this innovative channel.

This follows successful launches in South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand over the past two years.

DRTV is aimed at getting an immediate response to company ads, providing a convenient channel for potential customers to obtain more information on insurance products and offering the option of buying plans by telephone.

"Although selling insurance via DRTV is new to the Thai insurance industry, Cigna's strategy initiative has been an enormous success in other Asian markets", said Silparat Wattanakaset, Cigna's strategic marketing director in Thailand.

In South Korea, where the company's DRTV campaign was first launched in 2005, sales via the channel jumped sevenfold by the end of 2007 from 2005.

Last year in Taiwan, the company's first annual premium payments recorded double-digit growth from day one after DRTV was first launched in 2006.

"Due to the response from other countries, DRTV has become one of Cigna International's strategic initiatives worldwide", Silparat said.

Based on the expected success of DRTV, the company expects strong growth of 60 per cent in first-year annual premiums this year.

Last year, the company's first-year annual premium revenue was about Bt500 million.

Steven Lee Novkov, chairman and CEO of Cigna Insurance, said Cigna, which made its debut in Thailand in 2002 through Cigna International Marketing, had a strong in-house team of telemarketing personnel. Cigna began selling its own products through the channel after acquiring a Thai insurance licence in 2006.

Its business activities have gained support from several financial and non-financial institutional partners.

As of the end of last year, Cigna had more than 100 telemarketers operating from its call centre in Bangkok.

Novkov said the company would spend more than Bt50 million on DRTV advertising campaigns in the first half of the year. Their success will be measured by the number of calls to Cigna's call centre once the commercials are broadcast.

The first campaign Cigna is to promote is its "guaranteed acceptance" personal-accident insurance plan targeting senior citizens.

Cigna will distinguish its products from those of its competitors by offering high-value insurance coverage without requiring answers to health-related questions or provision of medical records. This concession applies to people up to age 70.

The Nation