Etiqa Insurance & Takaful is on track to be the leading insurance and takaful organization in
Malaysia by the end of this year. For its 2009/2010 financial year, Etiqa surpassed the
RM4.5 billion mark in top line premiums with a profit before tax of RM422 million.
“Etiqa has done very well this financial year. The last financial year was a difficult year for all
of us. However, we bounced back this year and have shown that there is still untapped
potential in the insurance and takaful market,” said Dato’ Aminuddin Md Desa, Chief
Executive Officer of Etiqa.
As a multichannel organization that covers both life/family and general, insurance and
takaful, Etiqa has something for everyone and easily accessible. “I am confident that we are
well on our way to becoming the leading insurance and takaful organization by the end of
this year. Etiqa has a multitude of channels and based on the achievements so far, each
channel is progressing at a pace that will position us as the leading organization in this
market,” added Aminuddin.
In terms of profitability, Etiqa recorded a growth of 29% in profit before tax, over the same
period last year. The topline premiums were generated through life/family takaful new
business which totaled 45.9%, surpassing the market growth by over 25%. The
general/general takaful business registered a growth of 16.1% compared to the industry
growth of 7.5%. Based on the achievement to date, Etiqa is well on track to meet its
aspirations for the 2nd half of this calendar year.
As for its position in the market, Etiqa maintained its number one position in the Life/Family
New Business category, the General insurance/takaful area as well as its pivotal position in
the takaful business where Etiqa Takaful holds a 44% market share. This also saw Etiqa
Takaful as the first takaful company to surpass RM100 million in profit before tax. Etiqa
Takaful was also recently named the “Most Outstanding Takaful Company” in the recent
Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF) Awards.
According to Aminuddin, there are several key reasons for this strong position. Being a
member of the Maybank Group is a key advantage for Etiqa. Etiqa on its own, is already a
financially stable organization, coupled with being a member of Maybank, it makes Etiqa
even more financially sound. Etiqa also has the advantage of being an organization with a
multitude of distribution channels. There are more than 26000 agents located throughout
Malaysia, a wide array of partners and strategic alliances, Etiqa branches in all major cities in
the country as well as access to Maybank’s 400 over branches nationwide.
The Etiqa brand and the people of Etiqa are also key to Etiqa’s success. “Etiqa is about
humanizing insurance and takaful. Etiqa is about placing people over policies. In everything
that we do, we try to make things as simple as possible for our customers as well as our
staff. There is too much bureaucracy and we are trying to cut through the red tape, to make
things easier and simpler to understand and execute,” said Aminuddin. In fact, in a recent
survey, the awareness of Etiqa was at 77%, which is a very decent feat for a brand which is
only in its 3rd year.
Aminuddin also stressed that Etiqa staff are instrumental to the success of Etiqa. “Our staff
are all guided by the Etiqa Way and through the Etiqa Way, they are constantly trying to
improve and simplify things for the customers. “I always believe that a happy worker is a
productive worker. And here at Etiqa, we have developed a culture that makes Etiqa a fun
and enjoyable place to work. And when people are happy, they are productive. Etiqa is
about loving your work and once that happens, the best always comes across,” he said.
“We always encourage our people to think Etiqa, to live Etiqa and to serve the Etiqa Way
and we are well on our way to developing a unique culture for Etiqa. A culture which is outof-
the-box for an insurance & takaful organization but very workable and palatable to both
our customers and our staff,” he added.
Aminuddin also added that in line with this new brand platform, a host of initiatives have
been developed, some of which have been implemented and some of which are in the
process of being implemented, to make things simpler and easier for Etiqa customers,
partners as well as staff. “When we first launched Etiqa, we made a difference through our
fast track claims for claims below RM2000, 30-day claims for stolen cars and bereavement
cash advance. However, the feather in our cap is our call centre, the Etiqa OneLine which
does not adopt the IVR. As a result, in line with the humanizing insurance and takaful brand
platform, you will never be attended to by a machine. There will always be someone to
attend to you, a real person and not just a voice,” said Aminuddin.
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