MetLife renews focus on Bangladesh

Any profit-oriented company will always look for effective ways to sell its products and services, and such was MetLife in Bangladesh until 2014.

But in early 2015, the insurer realigned its business approach, catering to the needs of its clients.

“We were giving prominence to our distribution channel and our priority was on sales,” Syed Hammadul Karim, chief marketing officer of MetLife, told The Daily Star in an interview.

As part of the reorganisation a strong marketing unit was introduced, whose objective is branding, product development through research and data analysis and communication.

The lack of awareness and understanding about life insurance among people is a big challenge for the sector, which contributes only 0.5 percent to the country's gross domestic product.

Bangladesh's insurance sector has progressed much in the last three decades. The number of life insurance companies rose to 31 from seven, while a new insurance law of 2010 replaced the old Insurance Act 1938. An independent authority has also been set up.

MetLife too has also grown in that time. Some 30 years ago, there were only 50 regular staff and 350 field agents. Now, it has 350 regular employees and about 15,000 field agents.

Its business was focused on Dhaka and Chittagong; now it has a presence in almost every district. It has nine sales offices, 11 customer touch points and 208 agencies in Bangladesh.

With about 28 percent market share, MetLife is the leading insurance company in Bangladesh.

“The growth could have been higher, but the industry could not grow as expected due to a lack of awareness,” said Karim, who joined MetLife in 1987 as a management trainee.

People in Bangladesh are aware of the importance of life insurance but do not have adequate knowledge on it, he said.

“Life insurance is a must if a person's family depends on his or her income, because the financial instrument replaces the person's income in case of any accident, including life casualty.”

In developed countries, insurance is an integral part of an individual's life, whether it is in house construction, car purchase, health or education, he said. Even in neighbouring India, the insurance to GDP ratio is 3 percent.

Karim, however, would not only blame the people. “As institutions, we have also failed to provide the support necessary to raise public awareness.”

The situation is improving, he said, citing the country's first ever insurance fair took that took place this year as a case in point. “If we can't create awareness, the sector will not grow,” Karim said, adding that it is possible to double the current market size.

MetLife, previously known as American Life Insurance Company, has been in Bangladesh since 1952, providing life insurance coverage to both individuals and groups.

It now has about 10 lakh policyholders across the country. As of December 2015, the total life fund of MetLife stood at Tk 8,792 crore and the total asset size Tk 10,105 crore.

Apart from providing insurance coverage to individuals or groups, insurance companies also contribute to economic development by investing in government securities, especially bonds, Karim said.

Of its total investment of Tk 8,885 crore as of December 2015, 81.62 percent was in the government sector.

MetLife is also engaged in different activities as part of its corporate social responsibility. It has partnerships with five nongovernmental organisations -- Habitat for Humanity, Concern Worldwide, Swiss Contact, Sajida Foundation and Asian University for Women.

It also works with the Dhaka University's mathematics and banking and insurance departments to support actuarial education.

MetLife, the largest US life insurer, has presence in 50 countries around the world.