Zurich Malaysia secures two wins at Asian Experience Awards 2022

The company’s initiatives aim to engage communities and simplify processes for them.

Financial services company Zurich Malaysia has brought home two major awards at the recently held Asian Experience Awards 2022 for the engagement of its communities through digital activations and a four-phase COVID-19 aid programme, as well as for the simplification of the claiming process during natural disasters.

With the challenges of the past two years brought by the Malaysian government’s initiation of several Movement Control Orders (MCO), the company had to postpone and cancel all Eat Right to Play Right (ERTPR) on-ground activations and instead turn to digital activations to protect the communities and adhere to the requirements set by the government.

The activations include #PlayRightAtHome, Digital Spin & Win, Eat Right Contest, Play Right Contest, ERTPR Educational Box, seven-day Cooking Series, and Football Pro Tips. These serve as means to engage communities and provide opportunities for them.

The ERTPR initiative is funded by Z Zurich Foundation, a charitable organisation established by Zurich Insurance Group. The unused funds from the on-ground activations were repurposed to assist those in need. Amongst those were communities financially affected by the pandemic and the MCO. The unused funds are used to aid job losses, unequal educational opportunities, and lack of medical equipment to treat COVID-19 patients, amongst others.

At the same time, the collaboration with popular hypermarket chain MYDIN creates the platform to reach a wider audience by placing ERTPR nutritional messages in food aisles and educating shoppers on healthy eating habits and the benefits of main food groups. 

Digital activations have been a huge help in addressing the well-being needs of the public during the pandemic. This has earned them the recognition of the Malaysia Brand Experience of the Year - Financial Services for the awards programme.

Meanwhile, Malaysia was ravaged by torrential downpours in December 2021, which resulted in floods affecting over 125,000 people and RM1.6b in losses. This persisted in March 2022 when the nation was hit with another spell of floods. Some people lost vital documents during the flood, and victims do not have the time or energy to spend trying to sort out important claims. 

This has inspired Zurich Malaysia to simplify the claims process in natural calamities to ease clients’ burdens. Resources were also allocated to streamline cases and provide smoother claim settlements.

Prioritising digital transformation, Zurich Malaysia introduced a WhatsApp business channel to simplify and make quicker customers’ claims for their property losses. A programmed chatbot will guide customers through a 15-minute conversation to collect salient information. Customers can upload photos, videos, or documents to support their claim assessment, which will be processed within five working days.

However, Zurich Malaysia understands that there are those who lack access or are uncomfortable using digital tools.

This led them to deploy Zurich Flood Aid vehicles to roam the roads during the monsoon season to expedite claims of affected customers. Flood relief items are also distributed to ease claimants’ recovery process during a difficult time. Zurich Flood Aid vehicles have visited six states in Peninsular and East Malaysia. 

With these initiatives, Zurich Malaysia successfully processed and paid 77% of claims, with more than 1,200 cases closed within three months. 

As such, the company’s unyielding commitment to respond during difficult times has been recognised, with the aid programme winning the Malaysia Customer Experience of the Year - Financial Services (Insurance) award.

The prestigious awards programme aims to highlight the ingenious initiatives of creative companies delivering meaningful brand experiences to their stakeholders.

The Asian Experience Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2023 awards programme and be acclaimed for providing meaningful brand experiences to stakeholders, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].