Jakarta. The Financial Services Authority, or OJK, recently said that it sought to balance between driving the insurance industry’s growth and safeguarding the consumers, as more insurers embrace digital transformation.

According to Ahmad Nasrullah, OJK’s head of the nonbank financial institution supervision department, Indonesia’s high internet penetration offers a huge opportunity for the insurance industry.

Data shows 202.6 million people or about 73.7 percent of the population in Indonesia are internet users. Around 96.4 percent or 195 million people surf the internet on their smartphones. 

“We anticipate there will be a boom in information technology adoption within the insurance industry after the pandemic,” Ahmad said at a conference themed “The Post-Covid Revival of the Insurance Industry” on Thursday.

OJK itself has been looking to accelerate the insurance industry’s digital transformation under its 2021-2025 master plan. OJK’s policy direction over the next few years includes strengthening tech-based supervision and consumer protection.

“We [OJK] are not only tasked to spur the industry’s sustainable growth but also [ensure] consumer protection. So despite this digital momentum’s potential, we still have to pay attention to the consumer protection aspect,” Ahmad said.

OJK will also pursue this balance between growth and consumer protection when regulating insurance technology (insurtech), according to Ahmad.

“We will soon roll out the technical regulations on insurtech in hopes [to achieve] OJK’s initial goal, namely making regulations that balance between the industry needs, contribution to the economy and financial system stability, as well as consumer protection,” he added.

A Streamlined Process
Bianto Surodjo, the business director at insurance provider Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia, said that customers could enjoy a more streamlined process if insurers embrace technology. Customers can also save costs, with processes becoming much faster and optimum. 

To this end, Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia is digitalizing its business from end to end. Among others by launching eAzy Cover, which enables customers to buy insurance face-to-face digitally.

Allianz’s focus on customers and technology eventually bore fruit, according to Bianto. 

“Our weighted new business premium (WNBP) went up by 32 percent in Q3 2021, compared to Q3 2019. Our market share [on WNBP] also rose from 8.2 percent [in Q3 2019] to 11.9 percent [in Q3 2021],” Bianto told the conference.  

This webinar is a joint event between Majalah Investor in partnership with state-owned insurance holding Indonesia Financial Group and Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia.