Based in Munich, Germany, Allianz’s journey in Indonesia began with establishing a representative office in 1981, followed by the establishment of general insurance company PT Asuransi Allianz Utama Indonesia eight years later in 1989.

In 1996, the establishment of PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia marked the company’s foray into life and health insurance, as well as services related to pension funds.

Today, Allianz Indonesia is supported by more than 1,000 employees and over 40,000 agents.

According to Allianz Life Indonesia Country Manager & President Director David Nolan, the most important aspect of any company is its people, which make up the teams that run the company, provide services to customers and ultimately help the community.

“Therefore, as a leader, you must empower the team. A good leader should define the strategy and lead by example. We must know when to step in and give direction in difficult times to our team members, and when to pull back and celebrate the successes,” Nolan told The Jakarta Post during a recent interview.

“It’s all about balancing, and all good leaders should master [this] art,” he added.

Nolan, who took up the post in 2021, has more than two decades of experience in the insurance industry, which has allowed him to identify the myriad challenges in both the industry and the communities it serves.

For example, a 2019 study by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) found that financial literacy was still below 20 percent, he said, whereas insurance penetration was still 3 percent as of July 2021.

Nolan believes, however, that challenges should be balanced with opportunities.

“Therefore, there is a huge opportunity to secure and protect more people,” he noted.

“Financial literacy is improving, and the opportunity provided by technology allows us to educate more people in a much [shorter] time. Throughout 2022, Allianz held more than 240 financial literacy events with more than 19,000 participants.”

As a leading insurance company, Allianz is committed to helping more people and securing their future through easy and accessible insurance solutions, especially through digital channels. The company currently offers protection to more than 12 million subscribers across the country and aims to reach 15 million subscribers by 2025.

Internally, one of the first things Nolan implemented at Allianz Life Indonesia is the ONE Allianz approach, which focuses on the company’s capacity to provide complete protection through its life and general insurance products. This was one of the strengths the company could leverage to support its mission to insure more people, he added.

To prepare for future challenges, he has also implemented the Allianz Indonesia Management Associate (AIMA) program for readying potential recruits to the Allianz and Leadership Development program for nurturing the company’s future leaders.

“I believe in the power of the younger generation that are agile and can bring new insights to take the company forward,” Nolan said.

Focusing on future challenges may turn out to be a boon, as numerous experts have predicted that 2023 will bring an omni-crisis affecting every level of industry and community.

While Nolan acknowledged that next year will would see a difficult economic period globally, he was also optimistic that Indonesia was in a solid position with its strong GDP, low debt-to-GDP ration, strong foreign reserves and high domestic demand.

“The pandemic and economic challenges that happened have truly increased public awareness on the importance of having protection. The Indonesian government and the OJK have clearly committed to supporting financial literacy and health development in Indonesia, and we believe that this will continue in 2023,” he said.

To reach its 2025 target of 15 million insured, Allianz Indonesia will continue to innovate to provide services that meet customers’ insurance needs.

More specifically, Allianz Life Indonesia is preparing for the spin-off of its sharia unit, partly to adhere to OJK regulations. But Nolan emphasizes that this is also important mainly because of Indonesia’s large potential, thanks to its large Muslim population.

According to the Indonesia Sharia Insurance Association (AASI), only 15 full-fledged sharia insurance companies were operating in Indonesia as of August 2022.

Allianz believes it can help expand sharia insurance in Indonesia by providing sharia-compliant insurance to those who need it.

“Finally, I believe that despite the challenges that may happen in 2023, Allianz will continue to protect more people, especially here in Indonesia,” said Nolan.

“As a leader, I would really like to leave my legacy in Allianz Indonesia: A truly empowered team that lives our purpose of protecting more people in Indonesia.”