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Hassan El-Shabrawishi: AXA targets long-term growth for Indonesia’s insurance industry

Front Row (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, February 3, 2025

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Hassan El-Shabrawishi: AXA targets long-term growth for Indonesia’s insurance industry

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XA, a global leading insurance company, has unveiled its strong commitment to establish a long-standing presence in Indonesia, taking a customer-centric culture approach to meet the changing needs of customers toward sustainable growth of the insurance industry in a digitally disrupted world.

Headquartered in Paris, AXA operates in 51 markets worldwide. Due to the size of its economy and population, Indonesia is a key Southeast Asian market. The bulk of Indonesia’s 300-million-strong population is made up of a vibrant younger generation consisting of 64.16 million individuals aged 16-30.

In Indonesia, AXA focuses on three business lines, namely life insurance (AXA Mandiri and AXA Financial Indonesia), general insurance (AXA Insurance Indonesia), and asset management (AXA Investment Managers Select Indonesia).

Hassan El-Shabrawishi, CEO of AXA International Markets, said AXA’s top priority was its customers. This was why the insurer always adapted its products to match both the culture and technology-driven changes of the countries where it operates to fulfill customers’ needs and expectations.

“I have a passion for customers,” El-Shabrawishi said on Dec. 12 during his visit to Jakarta.

“When you have a passion for customers, you always try to think what makes customers happy and how we change our business model, so that we can make those customers happier in the future,” he continued.

El-Shabrawishi, who serves in his role as CEO for Africa, Türkiye, the Middle East, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Latin America, is in charge of accelerating AXA’s operations across markets in these regions.

He was previously AXA’s Head of business transformation for the Mediterranean and Latin America, CEO of AXA Egypt, Head of Innovation for the Group, CEO of OneHealth and CEO of Africa.

During this period of serving customers across various markets, El-Shabrawishi learned the important lesson that it is of paramount importance to keep up-to-date with the changing generations a company serves and being passionate about customers.  

“I try to innovate by harnessing technology. But technology is a means to an end. The end is how we serve the customers faster, simpler, and better so that we can give them the best solution. That’s really the objective,” he emphasized.

“That’s why AXA continues to invest a lot on digital tools and digital solutions, be it for our agents, customers or our own employees, for sustainable growth of the insurance industry.”

Fulfilling his role as CEO of International Markets requires El-Shabrawishi to travel to each country under his purview and meet with the CEOs of local AXA offices, as well as their teams and partners, to realize the insurer’s marketing philosophy, “Think globally and act locally”.

“In each country we operate, we are really very local, but we are working with the global mindset, standard and tools,” he said.

Protection

Learning from each market from different countries where AXA operates, he said that although people had specific needs and problems, all customers desired the same thing: protection.

“They all want serenity for themselves and their families, as they want to see the future as an opportunity instead of a risk,” he said.

“The people want simplicity, convenience and empathic care,” he added, pointing to another cross-market characteristic in the insurance industry.

However, people's specific needs were different in every market, thus, services provided has to be unique to each market.

In Indonesia, AXA International Markets worked closely with local Indonesian talents so as to enable them to innovate in local markets and beyond.

“We are working with people who really love the country and are very passionate about the future of the country. This formula makes us very successful, because we always use local teams who are passionate about the future of the country,” El-Shabrawishi said.                                                 

With local talents, creating country-specific solutions providing better solutions for customers           becomes more doable. This is exemplified with AXA’s collaboration to establish a joint venture with one of the country’s most prominent financial institutions, Bank Mandiri, to establish AXA Mandiri, almost exactly 21 years ago. This collaboration has since propelled AXA Mandiri into becoming the number one company in bancassurance in Indonesia.             

 Additionally, the local expertise acquired from such collaboration enabled “AXA to position ourselves closer to the local markets by adapting to how, when, and where they would prefer to be approached.”        

“For example, in Indonesia we offer digital tools like the EMMA app, which caters to a population with high mobility and growing digital adoption. This app provides comprehensive features such as policy management, teleconsultation, and access to a network of partner hospitals, ensuring customers have the support they need anytime, anywhere.”

“Apart from EMMA, in general insurance, we also offer our customers and business partners fully accessibility to our retail sales and services through AXA myPage and AXA myInsurance, in web-based and mobile app platform,” he noted.

This approach ensured that “we are not merely delivering global products, but are instead providing tailored solutions that resonate with local customers.” he elaborated.

“It also aligns with our broader strategy to make insurance more accessible, inclusive, and relevant to diverse communities worldwide.”

For instance, AXA Mandiri offers a suite of inclusive products, such as micro insurance and affordable protection with premium starting at Rp 50,000, in addition to leveraging on Bank Mandiri’s branchless banking network that can access remote areas. 

El-Shabrawishi also underlined that AXA’s products were different from one market to another, as customers in each market had their own aspirations in pursuing peace of mind for their future.

For example, some might want to purchase a house while others might want to have sufficient funds for traveling, their children’s education, or retirement.

“So, we design our program to cater to the market’s needs,” El-Shabrawishi said.

“In Egypt and Nigeria where AXA operates, for example, AXA launched a clinic because there was a need for high-quality and accessible healthcare in these markets,” he added.

Meaningful impact

El-Shabrawishi said that while he didn’t envision becoming an executive responsible for international markets when he was young, he “always aspired to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives and communities”.

“What has come true is my passion for creating solutions that address real-world challenges, especially in the insurance sector.

“What has surpassed my expectations is the scale of this impact, as AXA International Markets now operates in 17 markets globally. The ability to lead such diverse teams and work on initiatives that shape the future of the industry is far greater than anything I had imagined,” he said.

“We often talk about being ‘ONE AXA’ – working together as one global team. Collaboration leverages the strengths of our people and partners to innovate and deliver meaningful insurance solutions to our customers worldwide,” said El-Shabrawishi.

AXA is present in 51 countries, with unique expertise and strong brand.

With regard to the Indonesian market and its position in AXA’s strategy, he said: “AXA expects Indonesia to play a crucial role in our overall strategy because it represents a very promising market in the Southeast Asian region.

“It is a vibrant economy, with economic growth currently standing at 5 percent and looking to have more than that entering 2025.”

He is equally optimistic about the future of the country’s insurance market. “The insurance industry has also continued to grow in the post-pandemic years, with promising revenues from both premiums and investment,” he said.    

He also provided some insights into how a country could be highly attractive to investment in the insurance sector, listing three main considerations: The first was good legislation that allowed investments to enter and exit quickly; the second was investment infrastructure that facilitated investors; while the third was protection related to assets and risks.

El-Shabrawishi believed that AXA is in the position to contribute more in the efforts by the Indonesian government to attract new investments.

“Thus, we see great opportunity in Indonesia, especially with the potential market that we can tap into, looking at the current insurance literacy rate at more than 65 percent in 2024.”

As for AXA’s operations in the country, he noted that the company “has a unique synergy between life, health, employee benefit and general insurance. Each business line has a wide range of distribution channels via bancassurance, agents, brokers, strategic partnerships, and digital”.

“Furthermore, the ‘digital first’ nature of [the Indonesian] people suits well with our innovative solutions with the spirit to cater for the specific needs of the local market,” El-Shabrawishi said.

“We are certainly committed to contribute to the sustainable growth of Indonesia’s insurance industry moving forward.”

On his personal philosophy on work, he said, “’Keep your head in the sky and your feet on the ground, but for that, you need to be very tall!”

“At AXA, this philosophy is evident in the way we strive to build a forward-thinking vision for innovation and growth, while remaining grounded towards bringing real value to our customers and stakeholders.”

“I also strongly believe in the power of kindness. Kindness is not a weakness but a driving force that builds trust, strengthens teams, and fosters long-term relationships. This is in line with AXA's core values of caring and customer-centricity, where the company continuously strives to meet the evolving needs of individuals and businesses,” he said.

“Another principle I hold dear is ‘Treat the customer as you would your own mother or family member’. This emphasis on empathy and care reflects a dedication to prioritizing customer needs with sincerity and integrity,” he said.

“AXA understands customer challenges and aspirations; thus, we are committed to providing customized solutions that empower people to protect what matters most,” he noted. 

“Going on almost 15 years at AXA, I have had the opportunity to grow my career being exposed to global roles and being trusted to even launch our ventures into new markets and areas of opportunity,” he said.

He added that AXA was an organization that instilled adaptability, resilience, and a strong focus on collaboration and customer-centricity as values to all of its teams globally.

“In my role today as CEO of AXA International Markets within 17 countries in our scope, adaptability is essential in managing diverse markets,” he noted.

“Through active listening, empathy and open mindedness, we lead AXA's global growth strategy and adapt it to our customers unique needs and wants, wherever they are across Latin America, Africa, Türkiye, the Middle East, Korea, and Southeast Asia,” he said.

“I truly admire our global teams’ resilience. Whether it’s navigating market disruptions or addressing the evolving needs of our customers, being resilient is key to stay focused on long-term goals, even in the face of uncertainty,” Shabrawishi said.

“This commitment to collaboration has been crucial in building strong, diverse teams and fostering partnerships across departments and with external stakeholders,” he said.

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