All posts by Tam Hse Leng

Tune Protect Shaking Up the Health Insurance Industry with Low Prices, Digitisation and Strategic Partnerships

KUALA LUMPUR, 21 SEPTEMBER 2021Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect” or “the Company”) sees significant growth opportunities in personal health insurance in Asia including Malaysia. The Asia-Pacific healthcare insurance market is expected to reach US$500 billion by 20241, which includes huge markets such as China, India and developing markets in which the Company has established its presence, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

According to Asian Healthcare and Hospital Management, the private health insurance market in Asia is projected to expand with nearly 3 million Asians actively seeking health insurance by the end of 2020. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect economies around the world and reduce the personal savings of individuals, the Company expects to see an acceleration of demand for personal health insurance. To compete in this burgeoning market, Tune Protect is shaking up the industry with reimagined value propositions, low prices, digitisation and strategic partnerships.

“We see the health insurance market as a key growth pillar for the Company. The penetration of personal health insurance amongst Malaysians2 and the rest of Asia is still low. However, awareness is at an all-time high now and there is increased demand for digital health insurance. Healthcare costs and demand will continue to rise, driven by the increase in communicable and non-communicable diseases, and a growing aging population3,” said Ben Assanasen (“Ben”), Tune Protect Group Health Lead.

He added that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about challenges to global economies, the already fragile public health system, and personal finances. People are more aware now that health insurance can help mitigate their vulnerability should anything untoward happen to them or their family.

To compete, the Group is mainly focused on millennials and Gen Z as they are both generations who appreciate solutions that are budget friendly, easy to navigate and are accessible digitally end-to-end, right from sign-up to claims.

By the end of 2021, Tune Protect will introduce a no-frills value proposition to address the vulnerable B40 group with the aim to help lessen the healthcare protection gap and ensure this group has access to suitable healthcare.

Offering Low Prices
Tune Protect health propositions are premised upon the basis of affordability where its price suits the current tightened wallets. The products are bite-sized in nature with simple add on options allowing customers to choose what they really need and what they are comfortable in paying.

To the millennials and Gen Z’s who are financially conscious, cost remains the biggest barrier. Thus, by breaking down the coverage and allowing them to decide what goes into the plan will allow them to save for other wants and needs such as home and travel once it is allowed.



Earlier this year, Tune Protect Malaysia introduced PRO-Health Medical where it offers affordable plans suited to one’s needs, with premiums starting from as low as RM50 monthly and annual limits as high as RM150,000.

Other health products introduced by the Company include myFlexi CI which is a flexible and customisable critical illness plan, Tune iPass and iPass Covid-19 which cover the medical expenses due to Covid-19 infection and VSafe Covid that provides coverage due to the side effects of the vaccine for the Thai market. myFlexi CI is due to be launched in Malaysia by the end of the year.

Leveraging Digital
With the aim to make insurance simple and accessible for everyone, Tune Protect has invested resources to bring about a digital experience that is best in class in terms of products, access, services, and business efficiency.

The tech enabled simplification journey is targeted at the millennials and Gen Z generations who prefer to shop and communicate online. The end-to-end customer journey encompasses the buying experience, policy management, service and claims experience is all done via the mobile app.

“The entire experience is a straight through process with minimal underwriting requirements. Tune Protect wants its customers to be able to choose and understand what they are buying and what is being covered, all at their fingertips,” said Ben.

Strategic Partnerships
Tune Protect is steadily accelerating its partnerships reach and further expand its presence across the ASEAN region with affinity and digital partners as well as insurance partners. Up till July 2021, Tune Protect has secured more than 35 partnerships across ASEAN, particularly in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, which included six Healthcare partners.

Through these partnerships, Tune Protect is able to provide complementary solutions to customers with its partners’ expertise and open up greater access for customers to obtain the Company’s products and propositions. The complementary propositions offered by the Company include the health and wellness programmes by Naluri, telemedicine services by Health2GO and second medical opinion (myEliteDoctor) by Preferred Global Health (PGH).

Tune Protect also works together closely with Yayasan Chow Kit (“YCK”) for its children’s health fund, Madhya’s Gift where they provide healthcare access to children from less privileged families who are in need of medical treatment. For every purchase of PRO-Health Medical plan, the Company pledges to contribute RM6 to this health fund.

The Naluri and YCK initiatives are part of Tune Protect’s sustainability commitment where PRO-Health Medical was the first product of the Company to be embedded with health and wellness propositions, in addition to charity. This sustainability commitment will continue in future online product launches.

“Tune Protect may have started out with a low base in terms of business-to-consumer (B2C) health insurance, however we are focused to build scale through our current and future products in the pipeline, competitive products and prices, and strategic partnerships to reach out to newer audiences while offering enhanced value for our customers,” Ben concluded.

For more information about Tune Protect, please visit https://www.tuneprotect.com/



1 https://www.asianhhm.com/articles/the-growth-of-private-health-insurance-in-asia
2 National Health & Morbidity Survey 2019 – only 22% of Malaysians have personal health insurance
3 Oxford Economics Global, Global Health Organization in 2018, the population for people aged 15-64 in Malaysia stands at 69.5% and in 10 years, it will be 68.4%. In Thailand, by 2037, 30% of the population will be an aging population (Ministry of Social Development and Human Security)
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Tune Protect Wins Two Awards in the MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Award 2020

Win Marks Second Consecutive Year of Tune Protect Receiving the Honours

KUALA LUMPUR, 15 SEPTEMBER 2021Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect” or “the Company”) has been named winner of two awards in the MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Award 2020, organised by the Minority Shareholders Watch Group (“MSWG”). This year, the Company was awarded the Excellence Award for CG Disclosure (Market Cap Above RM 100 million to RM 300 million) and the Industry Excellence Award (Financial Services).

This is the second consecutive year of Tune Protect receiving the honours from MSWG. Tune Protect also rose from 31st place in 2019 to 12th place in 2020 under the “Top 100 Companies for CG Disclosure. In 2019, the Company had also won first in the Merit Award for Most Improved category.

The MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Award is an annual award that aims to recognise the achievements of Malaysian public-listed companies (“PLCs”) that have demonstrated high standards of Corporate Governance (“CG”) practices and they are assessed using the ASEAN CG Scorecard Methodology.

A total of 851 Malaysian PLCs were assessed in 2020 based on the respective PLCs’ latest annual report, CG report and sustainability report for the financial year ended 30 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. Other sources of information include corporate websites, public announcements on Bursa Malaysia, as well as other publicly available information such as media and analysts’ reports.

“On behalf of MSWG, we would like to congratulate Tune Protect Group Berhad for the well-deserved recognition as only 38 companies are recognised for the awards from a total of 851 PLCs. Tune Protect has continued to improve its corporate governance standards over the years. Their improvement has landed them with the two awards for 2020 assessment,” said MSWG Chief Executive Officer Devanesan Evanson.

“We are very honored to receive both the Excellence Award for CG Disclosure and the Industry Excellence Award (Financial Services). To be recognised alongside other esteemed PLCs, especially in the Financial Services category will only spur us on to uphold the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and corporate governance. We would like to express our gratitude towards MSWG for the recognition two years in a row,” said Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect.

“Tune Protect believes that a strong corporate governance framework and culture translates into a sustainable company that delivers high value for all its stakeholders. As a financial services institution, the Company, with guidance from the Board of Directors, will continue to improve on its CG standards by adopting best practices recommended by relevant regulatory bodies, and providing relevant disclosures on its publicly accessible platforms for greater transparency to its stakeholders including minority shareholders”, added Rohit.

For more information about Tune Protect, please visit Tune Protect’s website at www.tuneprotect.com
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Tune Protect Group 2Q revenue improves, banks on diverse partnership base to drive growth in health and lifestyle segments

Highlights
  • Group’s 2Q21 underwriting profit rose >100% YoY
  • Underwriting profit lifted by higher NEP and improved net claims ratio
  • Growing Health and Lifestyle through strategic partnerships
Kuala Lumpur, 23 August 2021Tune Protect Group Berhad’s (“Tune Protect” or “Group”; TUNEPRO, 5230) continues to show resilience in weathering economic challenges, with underwriting (“UW”) profit rising more than 100% year-on-year (“YoY”) in 2Q2021 from a loss of RM2.1 million to a profit of RM7.7 million. The Group’s Gross Written Premium (“GWP”) rose 27% YoY to RM129.4 million while Profit After Tax (“PAT”) dipped 5% YoY to RM17.8 million mainly from lower investment, though it was partially offset by better underwriting profit. Investment income1 was lower by 34.7% YoY as 2Q20 investment last year staged a strong rebound after the dip in March 2020.

Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”) is positive about the Group’s prospects and attributes the commendable 2Q2021 results to higher Net Earned Premium (“NEP”) and improved net claims ratio. The Group’s NEP increased 22% to RM43.2 million mainly contributed by the Group’s reinsurance subsidiary, Tune Protect Re while net claims ratio improved by 36.9%.

Group Performance


Group Performance by Key Business Pillars
The Group is banking on the growing strength of its 3 core business pillars of Health, Lifestyle, and Small and Medium Enterprise (“SME”) to drive future growth. In the 2Q2021, the Group registered GWP of RM3.9 million, RM37.2 million and RM9.2 million from Health, Lifestyle and SME respectively.

“As we continue to grow our 3 core business pillars, contribution from our commercial business to the overall business portfolio is expected to reduce. As our Lifestyle and Health segments start to gain attention, we will continue to introduce more products and propositions in these segments across different markets in ASEAN and the Middle East,” said Rohit.


New growth opportunities in Health and Lifestyle
“The strategies underlying our Health and Lifestyle pillars are to offer customisable and value-added solutions to our customers via our business-to-consumer (B2C) channels and widen our distribution network through partnerships,” explained Rohit.

To date, the Group has launched several products in the Health segment such as PRO-Health Medical – a cashless health coverage targeting millennials; VSafe COVID which covers for the infection of the disease and the side effects of the vaccine; and myFlexi CI – a customisable critical illness plan. In addition to that, these products are complemented with value-added propositions offered by the Group’s strategic partners such as emotional wellbeing assessment for policyholders; teleconsultation as well as second medical opinion services.

“The Group will be replicating the same products and propositions across multiple geographies. We are also planning a new no frills cashless health coverage leveraging on low prices to target the B40 segment,” explained Rohit.

There were also innovative offerings from the Lifestyle segment, such as Home Easy & Home Shield, a residential building and home content protection with great flexibility for homeowners to tailor their plan with optional add-ons to meet their individual needs. It also offers up to 40% savings in premium with complimentary benefits if customers opt to cover both their homes and its contents. The Group also launched student assurance in the Middle East and inland transportation insurance in Indonesia and Thailand.

In the pipeline, the Group will soon be introducing pet-related coverages and eyewear protection.

Innovative digital solutions for SMEs
In the SME segment, the Group intends to provide innovative digital propositions to its SME customers. In 1H2021, the Group introduced worksites marketing by providing free training to SMEs and cross-selling insurance to SMEs.

Moving forward, the Group has various SME solutions in the pipeline, including SME Digital, an online insurance for SME/micro-SME and consignment insurance for e-commerce entrepreneurs. To encourage the take up of insurance among the SMEs, the Group will introduce an easy payment plan with flexible premium instalment of up to 6 months and provide complementary e-business training for SME customers via a strategic partnership with Redbeat Academy.

Leading the way in ESG and DE&I
The Group also leads the way on the Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) front, with a rating of 3.1 (out of 5.0) in the latest FTSE ESG semi-annual review 2021. In addition, the Group has also moved up a quartile to the top 25% by ESG Ratings amongst PLCs in FBM EMAS which was assessed by FTSE Russell, making it the only insurer in that quartile.

“The Group is committed to further enhancing our ESG practices for the benefit of our customers, shareholders and other key stakeholders. Furthermore, we are now a corporate member of the 30% Club Malaysia, a local chapter of a global business-led campaign focused on building an ecosystem of businesses to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion with a focus on gender balance on Boards and C-suites,” Rohit concluded.


1 & 2 Consist of investment income, realised gains and fair value gains
3 Excluding management expenses
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Tune Protect Group Joins The 30% Club Malaysia As A Corporate Member

Tune Protect Group to achieve 50% women in the leadership team by the year of 2023, whilst 50% of critical roles will be succeeded from within the organisation.

KUALA LUMPUR, 30 June 2021 – Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect”) is officially a corporate member of the 30% Club Malaysia, a local chapter of a global business-led campaign focused on building an ecosystem of businesses to promote diversity, equity and inclusion with a focus on gender balance on boards and C-suites. This involvement is in line with two of Tune Protect’s sustainability commitments in achieving 50% women representation in the leadership team by 2023 and 50% of the critical roles will have successors identified from within the organisation also by 2023.

“Today, 40% of members of the Tune Protect’s Senior Leadership team are women, which brings us closer towards achieving the Group’s commitment outlined earlier. We are thrilled to be part of the 30% Club Malaysia and share the platform to further accelerate the diversity and inclusion agenda going forward. In Malaysia, Securities Commission has set a target for 30% women to be on the Boards of the top 100 listed companies by the end of 2020, however, as at March 2021, there is only 25.6% women on the Boards, which denotes that there is still room for improvement to increase women representation at corporate levels. At Tune Protect, we have surpassed the target with a 40% representation of women in our Board and will continue to be an advocate in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect.

In achieving its commitment of having 50% women representation in the leadership team by 2023, Tune Protect has finalised the definition of the leadership team earlier this year and will be rolling out curated individual development plans for the identified women leaders by the year end. In addition to that, Tune Protect has also planned an organisational wide diversity deep dive exercise which will also look at women representation across various levels of the organisation.

To fulfil its commitment of having 50% of the critical roles succeeded from within the organisation, Tune Protect is currently undergoing a talent review exercise to earmark future leaders and map out their career progression within the organisation.

Launched in May 2015, the 30% Club Malaysia aims to activate Chairs and CEOs in corporates to be visible in adopting diversity, equity and inclusion best practices in their organisations as well as engage wider stakeholders with market influence through its activities.

“We are pleased to welcome Tune Protect Group Berhad as a Corporate Member of the 30% Club Malaysia; joining an expanding business ecosystem, working together towards a shared goal of diversity, equity and inclusion. The 30% Club Malaysia look forward to supporting Tune Protect Group Berhad, through practical and focused activities including access to knowledge, insights and best practices in advancing their diversity and inclusion agenda,” said Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Founding Chair, 30% Club Malaysia.

Tune Protect seeks to employ individuals who will make a positive contribution to the organisational objectives and to the core values of the organisation. Its hiring practices are guided by the principles of merit such as skills, knowledge, and behaviours, and in full support of a diverse workforce, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, and age, among others.

“We want to create diversity within our team and through this collaboration with the 30% Club Malaysia, we believe that we will be able to provide the platform in building talent amongst our women and offer opportunities across different levels of our organisation including senior leadership positions,” Rohit concluded.

For more information about Tune Protect’s sustainability efforts and commitments, please visit the official website at www.tuneprotect.com/sustainability.


1 https://pulse.icdm.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICDM-BOARD-DIVERSITY-REPORT.v11.pdf?
utm_source=pulse&utm_medium=mainweb

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Tune Protect Group Making Headway in its 3-year Strategic Plan

Kuala Lumpur, 17 June 2021 – Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect” or “the Group”) informed that their 3-year strategic plan has achieved several milestones from when it was first announced in January this year. At the Group’s 10th Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) held today, the Group reported the progress that it had made and the initiatives that will be executed moving forward. Tune Protect had in its strategy outlined several strategic directions including building an insurance company that everyone loves, leveraging on the AirAsia ecosystem, and establishing itself as an ASEAN-based insurer. The three key business pillars that the Group is focused on are Health, Lifestyle and Small & Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”), with millennials, Gen-Z and small businesses as its target consumer segments.

In his presentation to shareholders, Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), the Group Chief Executive Officer said, “Considering a low general insurance penetration rate of just 1.13%1 and internet users of nearly 70%2 of the population, ASEAN presents massive opportunities for us as we expand our footprint. It is certainly the right moment to accelerate our Health, Lifestyle and SMEs propositions to consumers or through our business-to-business (“B2B”) digital partnerships across industries such as airlines, e-commerce, logistic, healthcare providers and e-wallets, just to name a few.”

Acknowledging the massive growth opportunities in ASEAN, the Group has established more than 20 partnerships since October 2020. This achievement has surpassed the initial target of 10 partnerships that was set by the Group by the end of the first half of 2021.

Innovation in Health
The Group is focused on providing affordable and accessible insurance to address the protection gap in the market, especially when it comes to basic healthcare or medical coverage. In the first quarter of 2021, Tune Protect has introduced several health innovations in Malaysia and Thailand.

Its first online medical product, PRO-Health Medical, offers cashless hospital admission and an e-medical card upon enrolment, which can be easily purchased on the go, through the mobile phone.

In tandem with the inoculation programmes taking place worldwide, Tune Protect offers VSafe and VSURE Protect, innovative Covid-19 vaccination insurance plans in Thailand, covering in-patient medical expenses (cashless hospital admission) and daily hospitalisation income benefit, due to untoward side effects of the vaccination. Aside to being distributed online, a major hospital group in Thailand has also been appointed as an exclusive partner and distributor of VSURE Protect to administer the Covid-19 vaccination for easier access to the vaccine coverage. The vaccine insurance plan shall be made available to the Malaysian consumers next.

Taking its Health solutions a step further, Tune Protect recently introduced a Telehealth service, Health2GO, which provides medical Teleconsultation service for customers. Customers now have the convenience to consult with general practitioners and medical specialists or receive coaching from other healthcare professionals on health matters such as diet and stress management, remotely, either through phone calls, text messaging or video calls.

Rohit shared, “Insurance packaged with health services is especially relevant today, given the movement restrictions that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about. We are pleased to be able to connect our customers with their preferred doctor or dietician from the comfort and safety of their homes with Health2GO Teleconsultation. We expect to further stack our health tech offerings to Telemedicine next.”

In the pipeline, Tune Protect is also developing a Critical Illness proposition which will focus on key diseases cover and can be replicated across markets.

Meeting Consumers’ Lifestyle Needs
In addressing the needs of young homeowners, tenants and renters, the Group launched Home Easy and Home Shield to offer highly affordable home protection on the property, its contents, as well as stackable benefits such as landlord and mortgage loan protection. Home Easy can be purchased on Tune Protect’s mobile app, whilst Home Shield is distributed by the agency force. Home Easy, in particular, is a market disruptor as it is the cheapest Home insurance plan offered in the market, with savings in premium of approximately 40% for HouseOwner. Tune Protect has committed to refund the price difference in its Lowest Price Guarantee campaign should customers find a cheaper Home insurance product in the market.

Acknowledging the shift in consumer behaviour towards online shopping, the Group collaborates with BOXKU in Malaysia and Cover Genius in Thailand to offer Consignment Insurance and In-Land Transit Insurance respectively to cover for loss or damage to the parcels in transit. Through the partnership with BOXKU, Tune Protect offers online shoppers the ease and convenience of purchasing consignment insurance on BOXKU’s mobile app, whilst the in-land transit insurance is offered via the Shopee digital platform.

Moving forward, the Group will be offering more lifestyle-driven products which include among others pet, eyewear, e-wallet, and student travel protection plans.

Empowering the SMEs
Tune Protect acknowledges that despite tremendous benefits, many SMEs lag in digital adoption and transformation. Realising the digital gap overshadowing SMEs, has inspired Tune Protect to develop programmes to help alleviate the skillsets of its SME clients. Together with Redbeat Academy, Tune Protect looks to upskill and equip its SME clients with digital knowledge and know-how through a specially curated programme, BINA Digital3. This online programme is structured to introduce and guide SMEs in building a progressive business plan while looking into online productivity tools to take their businesses to the next level.

Additionally, the Group is also working on introducing its SMEs clients from the food & beverage and other retail consumer products industries to join the airasia Super App as merchants, to expand their businesses by broadening the distribution channel for customer acquisition.

Tune Protect will also be rolling out its first B2B SME insurance package and introduce an easy payment plan with 0% interest4 for its SMEs clients on their fire insurance, in the coming months.

Encouraging Performance
The Group’s Gross Written Premiums (“GWP”) and Net Earned Premiums (“NEP”) for the first quarter of 2021 (“1Q21”) rose quarter-on-quarter (“QoQ”), by 34.3% and 6.7% respectively. It is the second consecutive QoQ GWP growth and the third consecutive QoQ NEP growth for Tune Protect. This is an encouraging signal for the Group as its performance gradually returns to pre-COVID level, recording slight GWP and NEP decline of 2.4% and 3.4% year-on-year (“YoY”).

NPS As a Measure of Success
Tune Protect has started to adopt the customer and employee Net Promoter Score (“NPS”) as a measure of success. The NPS methodology allows a customer or an employee to rank their satisfaction level on how likely they are to recommend Tune Protect to friends and families, and the scoring is then used to interpret and improve customer satisfaction.

“One of the key factors to success lies in how best we are able to deliver the right solutions and products to our customers and employees by listening to what they want and how they feel about us. By adopting the NPS, we will first be able to drive the desired behaviour among our employees, and ultimately that can drive us to being an NPS leader in the insurance industry, and a step closer to our vision of being the Lifestyle Insurer That Everyone Loves,” Rohit concluded.

Committing to Sustainability
Tune Protect had outlined five sustainability commitments in the beginning of 2021. The progress of these commitments is summarised as follows:
  1. As at 31 May 2021, 40% of the members of the Group Board and Senior Leadership team are women. The Group targets to achieve 50% women in the leadership team by the end of 2023, whilst 50% of critical roles will be succeeded from within the organisation.
  2. Tune Protect is on track to be a zero-paper organisation for all in-control processes by end of 2021 as it pursues to be an agile and a more efficient company.
  3. Various business and operating policies have also been enhanced to include sustainability elements to ensure that the entire organisation embraces and practices sustainability in its day-to-day operations.
  4. Customers and employees NPS will be a measure of success for the organisation and the metrics is targeted to be rolled out in the second half of 2021.
  5. Charity or sustainability elements have also been incorporated in new online products where Tune Protect pledges to contribute RM6 for every PRO-Health Medical and Home Easy policy sold to Madhya’s Gift (Yayasan Chow Kit).
At the Group’s 10th AGM, which was held fully virtual via remote participation and voting, all 10 resolutions have been passed by shareholders. For more information about Tune Protect and to view the Company’s 2020 Annual Report, please visit the official website at www.tuneprotect.com.



1 https://www.malaysian-re.com.my/sites/default/files/asean_pulse2020_web_final.pdf
2 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/10/southeast-asia-40-million-new-internet-users-in-2020-report-finds.html
3 & 4 Terms and conditions apply
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Tune Protect Focused on Diversification Over Impending Market Recovery

Highlights
  • 1Q21 GWP and NEP grew to highest levels since 2Q20, driven by travel in the Middle East
  • Health and Lifestyle diversification progressing well with Medical and Home products launched
  • Overall 1Q21 earnings dampened by fair value investment losses, led by rising global bond yields
Kuala Lumpur, 28 May: Despite a challenging market, in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q21) Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect” or “Group”; TUNEPRO, 5230) recorded Gross Written Premiums (“GWP”) of RM110.4 million and Net Earned Premiums (“NEP”) of RM56.4 million, a slight decline of 2.4% and 3.4% respectively year-on-year (“YoY”). The Group’s GWP and NEP however rose quarter-on-quarter (“QoQ”), by 34.3% and 6.7% respectively. “We are still on the right path to recovery despite tough market conditions. This is evident by the Group’s 1Q21 GWP which posted its second consecutive QoQ growth, as well as NEP which grew for the third consecutive quarter. The Group also registered an underwriting profit of RM0.8 million with lower claims experienced. We have also been able to diversify our business to reduce reliance on AirAsia for travel premiums.”

“The Group’s growth was encouraged by our travel business recovery and performance of our Covid-19 products in the Middle East. Tune Protect Re (“TPR”) achieved strong revenue growth for the quarter exceeding that of 1Q2020 by 84.0%,” said Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect.

1Q21 travel premiums grew 55.4% YoY exceeding the pre-pandemic travel premiums level in 1Q20. The RM13.0 million travel premiums recorded in the month of March 2021 was the highest since 2019.



Earnings dampened by fair value losses
Overall, the Group posted Loss After Tax (“LAT”) of RM20.5 million in 1Q21, compared to a Profit After Tax (“PAT”) of RM2.8 million in 1Q20 and RM1.6 million in 4Q20. This was mainly attributed to net investment losses (after tax) of RM25.7 million in 1Q21. The fair value investment losses, unrealised in nature, were due to surging global bond yields driven by the sell-off of US government bonds in anticipation of economic recovery, as well as inflationary expectations. Nevertheless, the investment losses were partially reversed in April, and a further gradual rebound is expected in the next two quarters. Excluding the investment losses in 1Q21, the Group would have posted a PAT of RM5.2 million.

“We maintain a weighted fixed income portfolio credit rating of at least AA. With the current expectation of our fixed income unit trust investment’s fair value recovering in the coming quarters, we are confident it will remain a viable investment in the long run,” explained Rohit.

Health and Lifestyle diversification on track
The Group has made progress with its new forays in the Health and Lifestyle segments despite the pandemic challenges. In the Health segment, it launched the PRO-Health Medical cashless admission product, which is available for purchase on mobile app, in early March 2021, targeting the millennial generation. In the pipeline, the Group is planning for a lite version of a Health product, Telemedicine plus Teleconsultant and Covid-19 vaccine cover.

In the Lifestyle segment, the Group launched Tune iPass, which is an inbound travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage for travellers entering Thailand. The Group has also collaborated with Cover Genius to distribute a product that protect against damage or loss of goods during transit from the merchants to Shopee customers in Thailand. To date, more than 120,000 policies have been issued since its launch in February 2021. The Group has also been making progress in distributing various lifestyle and travel products to customers of other digital and affinity partners in Thailand. In Malaysia, the Group recently launched Home Easy and Home Shield with the intention of offering a highly affordable home insurance to consumers. Home Easy is the first online home insurance for the Group, whilst Home Shield is distributed by the agency force.

Boosted by Middle East travel segment
TPR, the Group’s general reinsurance subsidiary, posted a strong 1Q21 GWP of RM32.7 million, a growth of 84.0% and 22.1% YoY and QoQ respectively, which was driven by the rebound in travel business from the EMEIA (Europe, Middle East India & Africa) markets. Growth in the region was led by the Covid-19 Plus Extension products and bundled Covid-19 cover performed favourably well. 1Q21 PAT however declined to RM1.0 million. Tune Protect Malaysia (“TPM”), the Group’s general insurance subsidiary, posted lower 1Q21 GWP of RM77.9 million, a 20.7% decline YoY. Its GWP performance was impacted mainly due to the decline in Travel as a result of the pandemic and the continuous containment of the Motor business. It however recorded strong GWP growth of 39.4% QoQ contributed mainly by the Fire segment. The combined ratio has also improved 1.4 percentage point YoY and underwriting profit rose 69.4% YoY to RM0.7 million.
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Tune Protect Malaysia Unveils The Cheapest Home Insurance In The Market

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 May 2021 – Bearing unexpected and large expenses to repair or replace losses to property due to fire, flood, or theft can leave anyone financially strained, especially in current times. In responding to the needs of the market, Tune Protect Malaysia (“the Company”) has launched Home Easy and Home Shield, a HouseOwner and HouseHolder insurance which provide coverage for residential buildings and home contents against loss or damage due to fire, lightning, explosions, flood, or burst pipe, among others.

Home Easy offers the cheapest online home insurance policy in the market, more than 40% savings in premium at present1. To demonstrate that it is the most affordable in the market, Tune Protect Malaysia has launched the Lowest Price Guarantee Campaign and will make good the difference if a customer finds a cheaper quote in the market from now until 31 August 20212.

Home Easy is available for fast purchase online whilst Tune Protect’s agents will assist in the purchase of Home Shield.

Both home insurance products offer attractive savings in premium compared to the tariff rate, while providing greater flexibility to homeowners to tailor their plan with optional add-ons to meet their individual needs.

In addition to being highly affordable and flexible, homebuyers or homeowners will also enjoy complimentary benefits which include reimbursement of water bill due to burst water pipe, and a Personal Liability Insurance coverage of up to RM250, 000 if they opt for both the HouseOwner and HouseHolder coverage for their homes.

With these innovative solutions in place, Tune Protect Malaysia plans to capture potential homebuyers and existing homeowners.

In the 2020 Asia-Pacific Outlook3 by Ernst & Young, 94% of millennials in Malaysia indicated their intent to buy a home in the next five years. This figure reflects a promising opportunity for Tune Protect Malaysia to extend its reach to potential homebuyers with its affordable and flexible Home Easy and Home Shield.

William Foo (“William”), Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect Malaysia highlighted, “Buying a new home is exciting. However, with the steady increase in house prices coupled with the effects of the pandemic on personal budgets, customers have become more price-sensitive and will value any opportunity for savings. We are disrupting the market to be the insurance partner that provides the much-needed home protection at a fraction of the cost.”

He also added that many homeowners may not be aware of the amount of annual insurance premium they are paying, and he wishes to urge them to explore the potential saving they may obtain by getting a quote of these new products.

Home Easy is the first online home insurance product for Tune Protect Malaysia where customers can purchase through its website (www.tuneprotect.com) or the Tune Protect mobile application that is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. By purchasing from the Company’s online channels, customers will get to enjoy an additional 15% direct rebate on premium and earn 5 BIG Rewards Points for every RM1 premium for redemption of attractive rewards from an extensive list of BIG Rewards lifestyle partners.

Home Shield is distributed via Tune Protect Malaysia’s widespread agency network nationwide. By purchasing through the Company’s agents, customers will get to enjoy a Safety Net benefit – a 10% financial buffer in addition to the total sum insured of the residential building (HouseOwner).

Additional to the plans are the optional Top Up Packs to tailor their protection needs. The Top Up Packs include Landlord Insurance, Mortgage Loan Protection, Home Care and Smart Home Devices Protection.

For homeowners or homebuyers who may have existing protection but intend to purchase this new plan, Tune Protect Malaysia provides a Switchover Guide to assist them to exercise their choice.

In conjunction with the launch, Tune Protect will be joining hands with Yayasan Chow Kit (“YCK”) for its children’s health fund, Madhya’s Gift. Tune Protect pledges to contribute RM6 to this fund for every Home Easy policy sold from now until 31 December 2021. Madhya’s Gift was set up by YCK to provide healthcare to children from less privileged families who are in need of medical treatment.

For more information on Home Easy, visit their website at www.tuneprotect.com/products/home-easy and for Home Shield please contact 1-800-88-5753 or email at [email protected].


1 Based on Houseowner insurance plans available online in Malaysia as at 20 May 2021
2 Terms and conditions apply. Details can be found at
www.tuneprotect.com/chatterbug/home-easy-lowest-price-guarantee/
3https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_gl/topics/insurance/insurance-outlook-pdfs/ey-global-insurance-outlook-asia-pacific.pdf
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Collaboration with Health Equity Initiatives

COVID-19 Protection and Prevention for Underserved Refugees

Collaboration with Health Equity Initiatives

Refugee communities in Malaysia were severely affected by the COVID-19 lockdowns. Not only were they not able to earn a living, they had no means to protect themsleves from COVID-19 cross-infection that affected everyone. In an effort to create good awareness about good physical hygiene that can help to prevent cross-infection and protect precious lives, Tune Protect collaborated with Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) to deliver 17,500 certified surgical face masks, 350 soap bars and bottles of hand sanitizers to 350 refugees under HEI’s care.

Collaboration with Health Equity Initiatives
Collaboration with Health Equity Initiatives
Collaboration with Health Equity Initiatives

Certified surgical facemasks, soap bars and hand sanitizers for 350 refugees.

Tune Protect
Tune Protect CSR Lead Shawn Augustin handing over the COVID-19 Prevention Donation to Ashley Koh,
HEI’s Program Coordinator

Collaboration with Health Equity Initiatives

This COVID-19 Prevention Initiative is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 promoting Good Health and Well-Being among refugees in the Klang Valley.

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Tune Protect Launches Pro-Health Medical, A New Hassle-Free And Affordable Online, Cashless Medical Insurance

Plan Includes Covid-19 Protection Campaign, Mental Health Support and Allowance for Mosquito-borne Diseases

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 March 2021 – With growing awareness for medical protection, soaring healthcare costs and tightened wallets, Tune Protect Malaysia launched its first online cashless e-medical card, PRO-Health Medical. The cashless medical plan provides hospitalisation and surgical expenses benefits to suit consumers’ lifestyles and budget needs.

William Foo (“William”), Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect Malaysia highlighted, “Today’s digitally savvy customers thrive on convenience and simplicity. They are health-conscious, sensible and realistic in managing their expenses. These insights spurred the features of PRO-Health Medical as a comprehensive, budget-friendly plan that is easy to understand. Sign-up takes less than 5 minutes and claims are hassle-free via our Tune Protect App which also hosts the e-Medical card for cashless admission.”

Unique to PRO-Health Medical is a year-long mental wellness programme with Naluri for the first 1,000 customers, lump-sum allowance for mosquito-borne diseases, Covid-19 additional medical expenses of up to RM20,000 per diagnosis until 31 December 2021* and a charitable pledge by Tune Protect to Yayasan Chow Kit to provide children from less privileged families with access to healthcare for every policy sold.

“The professional overall mental health and lifestyle coaching by Naluri is especially timely given the pressures of keeping up with the “new” norm. Millennials are health conscious and goal driven. If their goal is to lose that 3 kgs they gained while working from home, or to learn how to balance work-life pressures, our programme with Naluri will give them that added assurance and support,” added William.

* For customers who purchase PRO-Health Medical in the month of March 2021

Features of PRO-Health Medical
The e-Medical Card provides customers coverage for hospitalisation and surgical expenses including in-patient, daycare surgical procedures and outpatient treatments expenses due to illnesses and accidents. Other benefits include the zero deductible feature which means that the customer does not have to pay upfront before receiving treatment, an e-Medical Card for a cashless admission at more than 150 hospitals across Malaysia and reimbursement for alternative and chiropractic treatments post hospitalisation.

PRO-Health Medical can be purchased by first time medical insurance customers or as a supplement to customers’ existing medical coverage. There are four plan types with Annual Limits ranging from RM30,000 to RM150,000 to choose from according to customer’s needs. A unique feature of this product is that it does not have a Lifetime Limit, which means that the Annual Limit is reinstated year-on-year.

PRO-Health Medical can be purchased by downloading the Tune Protect App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It can also be purchased from www.tuneprotect.com.

The online medical insurance is available for Malaysians and non-Malaysians who legally reside in Malaysia, aged 18 years old to 45 years old and can be renewed up to the age of 65 years.

Health Segment Aligned to Tune Protect’s Strategic Direction
“The Health segment is one the main business pillars for Tune Protect going forward. The impact of recent global events has increased the awareness and interest in medical insurance especially amongst millennials and Gen Z. We believe this market segment will grow rapidly,” said Ben Assanasen, Tune Protect Group Health Lead.

PRO-Health Medical signals the start of engaging millennials through the digital space via education and raising awareness of health care at a young age. We want to bring Health to the masses, especially to the millennials segment as they are currently underserved and underinsured,” Ben added.

PRO-Health Medical and Yayasan Chow Kit
In conjunction with the PRO-Health Medical launch, Tune Protect is joining hands with Yayasan Chow Kit (“YCK”) for its children’s health fund, Madhya’s Gift. Tune Protect pledges to contribute RM6 to this fund for every policy sold until 31 December 2021. Madhya’s Gift was set up by YCK to provide healthcare to children from less privileged families who are in need of medical treatment.

The YCK and Naluri initiatives are part of Tune Protect’s sustainability commitment under the health pillar and PRO-Health Medical is the first product to introduce better access to healthcare to those who need it. This sustainability commitment will continue in future online launches.

For more information on PRO-Health Medical, visit our website at www.tuneprotect.com/products/pro-health-medical.
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Malaysia Emergency Flood Relief Fund

An Emergency Flood Relief Collaboration with PIAM, FINCO and Mercy Malaysia.

Malaysia Emergency Flood Relief Fund

Tune Protect responded to the Emergency Flood Relief Fund plight sent out by Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia/ (PIAM). This was in response to FINCO’s call to urgently raise funds for the major floods that hit the country. Supported by Bank Negara Malaysia, FINCO is the Financial Industry Collective Outreach collaborative initiative pioneered by all financial institutions in Malaysia.

Malaysia Emergency Flood Relief Fund
Mercy Malaysia’s Call for Emergency Flood Relief Donations

Tune Protect rushed over a donation of RM20,000 to Mercy Malaysia for the following emergency supplies:
  • Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support which included drinking water, water for washing, antiseptic solution, soap, detergent, diapers, sanitary napkins, etc.
  • Health and COVID-19 safeguarding and services which included hygiene kits, surgical face masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, PPE kits, etc.

Malaysia Emergency Flood Relief Fund

This emergency donation is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 promoting Good Health and Well-Being among flood victims throughout Malaysia.

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