After positioning itself as the first direct car insurer, AXA Direct Korea will grow into a direct general accident insurer with an aim to acquire 1 million customers by 2022, its CEO Francois Lecomte said.

“We are mostly a motor insurance company, but now we try to be equally strong in accidental health insurance, where AXA Group in other countries is strong. We want to develop that in Korea, too,” Lecomte told The Korea Herald.

Last month, Lecomte won approval from Paris-based AXA Group for a 25 billion won ($21.4 million) investment for its Korea operations in 2017. 

AXA Direct is the first insurer that brought the idea of direct insurance, without an insurance sales agent, to the Korean market in 2001. It is now fourth largest business in the auto insurance market here after Samsung, Hyundai and Dongbu in terms of market share. In the total general insurance market, AXA is the seventh.

Lecomte who previously served as regional chief financial officer of AXA Asia in Hong Kong was appointed as CEO of AXA Direct Korea in March 2015.

 
“Currently, we have 700,000 accidental health insurance customers, and we want to raise the figure to 1 million in five or six years by doubling our accidental health business,” the CEO said.

The company has been selling some general insurance products ranging from personal accident to travel, cancer, dental to home content.

Next year, AXA will enhance its personal accident and cancer insurances and launch at least two new plans that will meet specific needs of its Korean customers.

“On cancer, we try to bring to the market products that not only pay money but help therapy,” he said. 

Korea is a good place to be a direct insurance company, where the digital strategy works the best in achieving speed and cost effectiveness, according to Lecomte.

“Korean consumers are demanding on service, especially speed, and they always look for cheaper solutions. I think the only way to make those two together is digital,” he said. “What Korean consumers want is cost effective service, which translates to digital service, so it is good to be a direct insurance company here,” Lecomte said. “We give consumers all possible digital choices -- telephone, smartphone, PC, mobile device -- as we call it multi-channel platform where they can choose a convenient tool for themselves and subscribe to an insurance. We don’t push one specific channel.”

What the Korea business chief wants to boast is “high-level of convenience” that AXA customers are enjoying. AXA Direct multi-channel platform is the most advanced compared to that of AXA in other countries such as its home country France, Belgium, Poland and Japan, the CEO said.

“40 percent of our consumer interaction is through digital channels and social channels like Kakao, which is huge,” he said. “It makes things very convenient, cheaper and fast.” 

On top of its multi-channel platform, Lecomte expanded mileage and kid discounts to Korean motor insurance customers this year.

“A majority of Koreans drive less than 15,000 kilometers per year, so they can benefit a lot from mileage discount,” he said. “Take a photo of your car number plate and mileage, send it through Kakao. How simple! If you have driven less than 15,000 km, you get a discount at the end.”

Plus, if you have a black box, you get an additional discount. If you have kids, even more.

“There 20 million cars here and 4 million drivers currently benefit from mileage discounts in the market,” he said. “In the future, I think more than 10 million would be entitled to the discounts, but they are not yet aware of the idea.” 

AXA entered Korea in 2006 by acquiring Kyobo Auto. Lecomte played a leading role in introducing AXA to Korea back then. Since then, the company has been doubling its operations, achieving its “growth ambition.”

“Today, we have more than 1 million customers in the Korean auto insurance market,” Lecomte said. “The ambition was to grow, and I think that ambition has been achieved.”

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)