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KUALA LUMPUR, 27 March 2023 – Tune Protect Malaysia (“Tune Protect”), Malaysia’s digital lifestyle insurer has launched its first lifestyle branch that is integrated with a café, Hope Coffee and Eggdicted in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. The opening of a lifestyle branch is aimed at providing a modern and engaging customer experience and redefining the insurance experience for the millennials and Gen Z. Hope Coffee and Eggdicted are owned and operated by Incite Foodtech Group.

The integrated Café Branch features an open-concept layout, pushing against the stereotype that insurance companies are serious and boring. This unique concept is part of Tune Protect’s strategy and culture of being customer obsessed and making it simple, benefitting both its agents and customers by creating a relaxed and comfortable environment where customers can enjoy coffee and other refreshments while discussing their insurance needs. The relaxed atmosphere can help reduce stress and anxiety, enhancing productivity and creativity for employees and agents.

Jubin Mehta (“Jubin”), Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect Malaysia said, “We chose this location in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur due to its proximity to one of the biggest malls in Klang Valley and that it is centrally located to serve customers from both Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. As we aspire to be the lifestyle insurer that everyone loves, being present in a high traffic location with various activities in the nearby mall will help us in elevating our brands top-of-mind recall and provide our customers a seamless experience.”

“We truly embrace our brand value of being curious and bold to step up our game by introducing this new concept of integrating a café in an insurance branch,” Jubin continued.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Tune Protect to introduce a unique lifestyle concept that combines insurance and coffee. An ideal setting where customers can enjoy a great selection of beverages from Hope Coffee and snacks from Eggdicted while discovering more about insurance. This is the first of many, as we intend to open many more later this year. Together, we’re transforming the insurance and coffee businesses,” said Karen S Puah, Co-CEO of Incite Foodtech Group.

To celebrate the opening of the lifestyle branch, customers can purchase any Americano, Cappucino or Latte at just RM2 each from Hope Coffee. Additionally, customers will receive a free Americano, Cappuccino, or Latte with any purchase of Eggdicted sandwich. Promotion ends 30 April 2023.

Also, in conjunction with the launch, Tune Protect will be giving out freebies in an effort to promote Tune Protect mobile app and PUMP, a digital health technology solution which is available within the Tune Protect app. PUMP is a free for all solution that was launched to make healthy lifestyle accessible to all. It helps users track their health and physical activities in a fun and rewarding way and promotes wellness holistically through simple habit changes.

Present at the launch were Mohamed Rashdi bin Mohamed Ghazalli, Chairman of Tune Protect Malaysia; Members of the Board of Tune Protect Malaysia; Rohit Nambiar, Group Executive Officer of Tune Protect Group; Jubin Mehta, Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect Malaysia, and Vincent Ku, Chief Agency Officer of Tune Protect Malaysia. Hope Coffee was represented by Karen S Puah, Co-CEO of Incite Foodtech Group; Eugene Chew, Chief Operating Officer of Incite Foodtech Group; Cheehaw Choong, Chief Brand Officer of Incite Foodtech Group

“This lifestyle branch is the first for us at Tune Protect, and we look forward to expanding the branch concept to other regions in Malaysia. We believe that the lifestyle branch will give us a competitive advantage in positioning Tune Protect as the lifestyle insurer that everyone loves,” Jubin concluded.

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¹ Terms and conditions apply

Highlights:

• FY22 recorded YoY GWP (+36%) and NWP (+72.5%), the highest growth since 2013.
• Posted first profitable quarter since 3Q21.
• Driven by growth in preferred market segments with retention ratios exceeding 70% target.
• Underwriting contribution grew close to 2x, underwriting losses down by 60%.
• Unlocking huge growth opportunities with ASEAN partnerships, SME and B2B travel segments.

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 February 2023 – Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect or “Group”; TUNEPRO, 5230) ended the Financial Year 2022 (“FY22”) with a bang by registering a record topline growth and returning to black in the Fourth Quarter of 2022 (“4Q22”) after four consecutive quarterly losses.

The Group recorded its highest Gross Written Premium (“GWP”) and Net Written Premium (“NWP”) since its Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) in 2013. GWP and NWP rose +36% and +72.5% respectively Year-on-Year (“YoY”) in FY22. GWP increased from RM409.0 million (FY21) to RM556.1 million (FY22) while NWP soared from RM201.1 million (FY21) to RM347.0 million (FY22). The strong results were achieved despite the fact that the airlines business have yet to return to pre-Covid levels. The Group’s financial turnaround was driven by growth in preferred segments, i.e., Lifestyle, Health and SME, which more than compensated for the gradual planned exit from the Group’s legacy commercial business.

Returned to black “It was our first profitable quarter since 3Q21. Quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), the Group’s 4Q22 Net Earned Premium (“NEP”) was higher than Net Written Premium (“NWP”) as we are seeing the flow through of earned premiums,” said Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Tune Protect Group’s Chief Executive Officer.

Rohit remarked that underwriting contribution almost doubled while underwriting loss narrowed by 60%. Investment portfolio rebounded in 4Q22 and ended the year breakeven while Tune Protect Thailand’s (“TPT”) Covid-19 claims stabilised. The Group’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (“CAR”) remains strong and is significantly above regulatory requirement which supports future growth.

“The strong performance was a reflection of the Group’s constant and concerted efforts to become a more efficient organisation on a ratio basis. Our improvements in 4Q22 were also contributed by an encouraging combined ratio as premiums started to flow through from NWP to NEP, in tandem with our topline growth which has outpaced expenses for 3 consecutive quarters. NWP growth of 72.5% YoY is a company record. Retention ratio of 62% is on track of meeting our 70% target by end 2023, while FY22 NWP exceeded even pre-Covid levels,” explained Rohit.


Notes:

1. NEP minus net commission expenses, net claims incurred, facilitator fees and royalty.
2. Aggregate of investment income, realised gains and losses & fair value gains and losses.
3. Share of results of an associate (TPT) and a joint venture company (TP EMEIA).

Strong 4Q22 retention ratios The financial performance is also evidence that one of the Group’s main objectives of retention of upwards 70% in all Lines of Business (“LOB”) is on track. All preferred segments’ retention ratios exceeded the 70% target. The Lifestyle segment’s growth was mainly driven by the the Personal Accident (“PA) segment which increased by RM 14.1 million, as well as the Motor segment which increased by RM 9.0 million. However, overall Travel was still down by RM5.9 million as AirAsia’s strong growth in 4Q22 was still lower compared to 4Q21 which was driven by Covid-19 travel insurance sales in the Middle East region.

“In 2023, our focus is to grow the profitable motor segment with regular monitoring of the portfolio. We will also increase the Motorcycle segment’s mix, penetrate top travel agents in every city and grow our Small and Medium Enterprise (“SME”) and Health segments,” said Rohit.

Overall, the Group is poised to capitalise on the expected travel recovery in the region. Recently, it partnered with AirAsia in a campaign to provide free flight delay insurance. The Group has also launched instant claims notifications and payment in partnership with a leading e-wallet provider in Vietnam as well as in the Middle East.

The Group is on track to evolve its technology arm as a profit centre. Beginning with the activation of 3 new markets paying fees for the Tech services in 2021, the Group subsequently obtained the approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to host the Malaysia general insurance business core system on Cloud in March 2022. The core system has gone live with its Phase 1 implementation in October 2022.

Huge opportunities in ASEAN, SME and B2B Rohit elaborated about the tremendous opportunities in regional markets, such as its collaboration with new partners in Vietnam. The Group has 2 new insurance partners in Vietnam that have agreed to share their Healthcare and Lifestyle insurance portfolio in exchange for reinsurance training, product development services and technology. Vietnam’s total FY22 GWP contribution to the Group was RM20.8 million.

“This is part of one of our key objectives of expanding our presence in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) region. Through our existing insurance partner in Vietnam, Bao Viet Insurance, we secured a partnership with VNPay, one of the largest financial technology (“fintech”) players in Vietnam with 15 million active users and more than 150,000 corporate clients. Our collaboration went live on 14th January 2023 and we are going to launch an international travel plan,” said Rohit.

Another key growth area is unlocking various opportunities in the SME and Business-to-Business (“B2B”) travel segments. One of the company’s success stories in 4Q22 was launching the B2B Travel portal in Malaysia at nationwide branches and travel agencies. This portal will also be launched in Thailand by 1Q23. It has expanded B2B Travel to all distribution channels including AirAsia, broking, agency and partnerships.

The Group launched the Business Shield programme for the SME segment and hosted 2 SME industry round-tables with over 60 industry leaders to gather insights and identify touchpoints for SME customers. It developed a user friendly sales kit and is targeting profitable segments/industries to reduce portfolio volatility. It plans to diversify distribution channels to be digital-ready for SME Business-to-Consumer (“B2C”) channels and partnerships.

Customer NPS ahead of competitors The company is making huge strides in becoming a Net Promoter Score (“NPS”) leader in its preferred markets. The Group’s Customer NPS stood at +39% as at December 2022, which is well ahead of local competitors’ and is on par with global industry.

“We want to be an employer of choice among insurers for millennial talents. There has been an encouraging progress in our Employee NPS that jumped to 26% in November 2022 from 5% the year before. Significant measures have been taken to bridge the gap and achieve this result,” said Rohit.


Notes:

1. Inclusive of TPR, TP EMEIA, TPM, and TPT.
2. 1Q2022 to 3Q2022 metrics were revised to account for the adjustment in cut off date.
3. 2022 is the baseline year. YoY comparison will be made for 2023 metrics onwards
4. Number of active policy / unique active customer
5. Number of products by nature / unique active customer
6. Duration of active customer since the inception of the first policy
7. Total GWP / active customer base

Customer metrics boosted by post-Covid travel The Group has benefited from the reopening of the economy and travel recovery post-Covid, as shown by 1.9 million unique customer count in 4Q22, increasing almost twofold compared to 1Q22.

“This was supported by various marketing and promotion campaigns throughout the year, as well as the digital affinity partnerships that boosted customer count. However, average product and active policy per customer reduced slightly from 1.24 and 1.41 (1Q22) to 1.09 and 1.25 (4Q22) respectively, mainly due to a higher base in 4Q22,” said Rohit.

Another positive indicator for the Group was customer vintage, or duration of customer retention since first policy, which recorded steady growth throughout the year.

“In tandem with improved Customer NPS, our customers are staying longer with the company. Customer vintage increased from 5.33 years in 1Q22 to 5.69 years in 4Q22. However, average premium per active customer was reduced from RM335.8 in 1Q22 to RM204.2 in 4Q22. This was in tandem with travel growth after the reopening of borders and lower ticket size of travel insurance,” explained Rohit.

In terms of age division, the Group’s customers age composition is largely dominated by the 20 – 45 year-olds, standing at 60% in the mix. This is followed by 36% of 45 year-olds and above, whilst 4% represented the below 20 year-olds category. This is proof that the Group is capturing the right target segment, i.e., millennials and Gen Zs as intended through the various lifestyle brand and marketing campaigns, as well as the offering of products and services that are appealing to this market segment.

Committed to ESG and sustainability The Group is committed in the long term to its sustainability and Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”) objectives. It has included charity elements in its online products (excluding PA and Travel) and expanded the commitment with a total of 6,000 Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) hours performed by employees over 3 years (2022 to 2024). It is an industry leader in governance targeting 50% women in leadership roles by 2023. 50% of critical roles will also have successors identified from within the company by 2023.

Investments In terms of investments, Rohit cautioned that the Group will remain conservative in 2023.

“For our fixed income portfolio, the end to central bank monetary policy tightening is within sight. This expectation has fuelled a bond market rally both globally and in Malaysia. Asset allocation wise, money market funds will form at least 70% of overall portfolio by the end of 1Q23. In 4Q2022, we reduced our equity exposure to 2% and will make a full exit by 1H23,” Rohit concluded.

• In its 7th year, Tune Protect Group continues to support Yayasan Chow Kit
• Back-To-School shopping treat for 50 children
• RM30,000 contribution to Madhya’s Gift Fund to provide healthcare to children from less privileged families who require medical treatment.

KUALA LUMPUR, 21 February 2023 – In preparation of the new school year in March 2023, Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Group”) recently organised a ‘Back-To-School’ shopping trip for 50 children from Yayasan Chow Kit (“YCK”), as part of the Group’s corporate good (“CG”) programme. The Group also contributed RM30,000 to Madhya’s Gift Fund (“Fund”) by YCK to provide healthcare to children from less privileged families. The Group’s CG campaign with YCK is an ongoing initiative since 2017.

The shopping trip involved 50 children aged between 8 to 16 years old and mobilised more than 40 team members of the Group to accompany the kids as they shopped for school necessities such as school uniforms, shoes, school bags and stationeries. The children then enjoyed a lunch treat at Atmosphere 360 KL Tower.



Aside from the shopping spree, the Group contributed RM30,000 to Madhya’s Gift Fund – established by YCK as an emergency and critical healthcare fund for children from less privileged families who are in need of medical treatment. Tune Protect pledged to contribute RM6 to the Fund for every purchase of online insurance policy except for Travel and PA since 2021. This is the Group’s second year of commitment to the Fund in fulfilling its sustainability commitment through its products and services.

Witnessed by Rohit Nambiar, Group CEO of Tune Protect and Ananti Rajasingam, CEO of Yayasan Chow Kit, the mock cheque was handed over by How Kim Lian, the Group’s Chairman of Sustainability Committee to Dato’ Dr. Hartini Zainudin, the founder of Yayasan Chow Kit.



Rohit Nambiar, Group CEO of Tune Protect said, “Our long-standing relationship with YCK has opened the opportunities for the Group to extend our reach to underprivileged children and families under their patronage. Since 2022, we have expanded our sustainability commitment of achieving 6000 CG hours over a period of three years by rallying our fellow employees to volunteer in various community and environmental engagement initiatives. We are proud to have our employees volunteering their time and effort through this Back-to-School programme with YCK. Additionally, the Group is also the first supporter to join the YCK bandwagon in advocating for children who are in need of medical support. We are happy to see the children getting the support they need, and we will continue to spread the love.”

This initiative is in line with the Group’s sustainability goal to be socially proactive by supporting the dependent and underserved communities through impactful activities.

• A unique and fun way to monitor your health and physical activity
• Membership is 100% free and users can earn valuable rewards through the PUMP Rise Game

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 DECEMBER 2022 – Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Group”) has launched its first health tracker app, PUMP, an online health, and physical activity tracker. Being a one-of-its-kind app in the market, PUMP is not just a normal health tracker, but it is also loaded with useful content, healthy recipes, challenges, and rewards.

Upon activation, users will be automatically enrolled in the PUMP Rise Game, where their physical activity is tracked using their mobile device or wearable to earn valuable points. Additionally, there is a self-care library where users can take a simple diabetes risk test to obtain a diabetes risk score, as well as a section on physiological markers where users can input their fasting glucose level, blood pressure, lipid profile and more. What makes it even more exciting is that within the app there is also the social wall, where users can share their thoughts and pictures on health and wellness content and read existing content that is featured within the app.

Users can also do additional activities such as checking their mental wellness, tracking their fibre nutrition intake to earn extra points, and they can also enrol in challenges such as the PUMP Score and PUMP Steps challenges. After achieving certain point levels in the PUMP Rise Game, users are entitled to valuable rewards in the form of e-vouchers from leading brands in Malaysia such as Zalora, Adidas, Guardian and more.



Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect said, “As Malaysia’s homegrown digital insurer, we are not just looking at providing easier access to protection but to also leverage technology to help Malaysians stay fit and healthy. It is important to track our health status and physical activity to help us keep on target with goals and promote a healthy lifestyle. The PUMP app provides an end-to-end fully digital customer journey that further reiterates the lifestyle insurer aspiration of the Group especially in targeting the digitally savvy Millennials and Zillennials.”

“Our PUMP app is not just like any health app out there. Physical activity plays a major role in enhancing our well-being, but the app also tracks mental wellness and a lot more key health indicators such as diabetes risk tests. In the app, users are able to check on their fibre intake for the day and are even given high-fibre recipes as a guide for a balanced lifestyle. We understand how motivation is important to encourage people to move and challenge themselves to be more active and that is why we created the Pump Score Challenge where users can enrol themselves in the available challengers to challenge the other members,” added Rohit.


PUMP is available through the Tune Protect App. Just download and register with the Tune Protect App (for Malaysia) for free in the Google Play and Apple Store. Then look for the PUMP icon to get started. For more information on PUMP and its features, please visit its website.

KUALA LUMPUR, 30 November 2022 – Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect or “Group”) revealed today at the Tech-Focused Corporate Day held in Kuala Lumpur that its in-house developed API tech, digital accelerators which are built on an open digital architecture are driving top-line growth for the Group and business partners regionally especially in digital policies and are able to generate 11 million policies per annum.

Featuring White Label Sdn. Bhd. (“White Label”), it is the Group’s technology arm which is a one-stop shop powering solutions for affinity partners, products, distribution and partnerships. Providing Technology services, White Label forms part of the Group’s offering, making it a vertically integrated insurer that can offer not just General, Life and Reinsurance propositions to the market, but as well as Technology services. White Label is a Malaysia homegrown technology arm with its centre of excellence located in Kuala Lumpur. It has grown to having more than 80 resources and expected to exceed 110 in 2023.

The Group now has expanded its wing beyond serving only Tune Protect. Today the tech entity, White Label has paying clients from the Middle East and ASEAN who use its technology platform.

The event themed “Embedded Insurance, Simplifed by Tech” highlighted the proven and successful adoption of its API-led solutions by partners such as Qoala Malaysia, Baoviet Insurance, and EcoWorld. The event was attended by analysts, investors and the media.

“As an ASEAN-based digital lifestyle insurer with an extensive global footprint via our multiple affinity partners, customer touch points and channels, the Group is capitalizing on technology trends and one of its key strategic moves is to evolve its tech arm, White Label as a profit centre. Through White Label, we want to continuously simplify the company’s use of technology to offer our customers the best experience, and similarly for our partners to enjoy the same benefits with their customers. White Label offers innovative technologies that clearly achieves business growth,” said Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Tune Protect Group’s Chief Executive Officer.

In simplifying its customers insurance journey and providing sound customer experience, Tune Protect is committed to servicing its retail and individual customers with its 3:3:3 promise where they can purchase insurance in just 3 minutes, receive a response in 3 hours and receive their claims payout in just 3 days¹. The Group’s in-house technology has enabled the delivery of this promise for its customers.

During the event, Rohit Nambiar presented his insights on the role of White Label in the space of embedded insurance while Prasanta Roy (“Prasanta”), Group Chief Technology Officer of Tune Protect Group delved into its in-house developed tech platforms for B2B distribution, middle and back office accelerators powered by open digital APIs. Through the digital accelerators, the Group has increased digital policies issuance by 21.6% to 7.2 million in 9M22 compared to 6.0 million in the same period last year.

““Our technology stack and software which is built completely on open source is facilitating the Group’s entities and business partners regionally to create products faster and distribute them across any channel. As it is built on an open digital architecture guided by modern software engineering, the time to market is faster than the current norm in the insurance industry.The total cost of ownership is lower since it is using open source tools and the cost benefit gets passed on to the business partners. They can now build products faster and digitally distribute without going through large scale core system transformation which can be very expensive and time consuming. The risk is completely mitigated and gets connected to various external partners or marketplace through open REST APIs,” said Prasanta.

The unique value proposition of White Label’s technology capabilities is that it was crafted and designed by an insurer, thus other insurers that tap on these capabilities will find it relevant, adaptable and affordable.

In line with the Group’s 3 key business pillars, it has already partnered with 65 digital and affinity partners across 60 countries in the Health, Lifestyle and SME segments. White Label has been the catalyst enabling the Group to expedite digital partnerships across different markets and industries globally.

“We are open to working with various partners in this space, or those that are open to embedding Health, Lifestyle and SME insurance propositions onto their digital platforms. Leveraging on our Tech capabilities, we are growing at an exponential rate, and we can help our partners achieve the same,” Rohit concluded.

The event also featured a panel discussion with Tune Protect’s digital and affinity partners on how they are leveraging the Group’s technology to drive profitability and their experiences tapping into White Label’s tailored solutions. The panel speakers included Bui Quy Duc, Deputy Director of InsurTech Division, Baoviet (Vietnam); Akash Sharma, Head of Direct-to-Consumer, Qoala Malaysia; Liew Tian Xiong, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, EcoWorld; Janet Chin, Chief Partnership and eCommerce Officer, Tune Protect; and moderated by Affryll Teo, Head of IR, Sustainability, Tune Protect.

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¹ Terms and conditions apply

Highlights:

• Focused on delivering its 3:3:3 promise; number of customers increased 20% to 1.8 million in 3Q22
• Continue to make very good progress vs. our 8 commitments for 2023 – focus remains on 2021-2023 plan achievement
• 3Q22 NWP and NEP on upward trend at 68.5% and 64.3% growth YoY
• Robust topline underpinned by strong retention ratios across all LOB
• NWP growth observed across all preferred pillars – Lifestyle, Health and SME
• Investment losses narrowed but weighed by volatile equity and bond markets

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 November 2022 – Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect or “Group”; TUNEPRO, 5230) displayed sustained strong topline growth in 3Q22, as evidenced by its gradual improvement of investment losses and recovery of its Thai operations. The Group posted an impressive growth of overall Net Written Premiums (“NWP”) to RM72.8 million and Net Earned Premiums (“NEP”) to RM72.3 million, rising by 68.5% and 64.3% Year-on-Year (“YoY”) respectively. The 3Q22 results were underpinned by strong retention ratios across all lines of business (“LOB”) and improvements in claims trend of the Group’s Thailand associate Tune Protect Thailand (“TPT”).

The Group however, recorded a loss after tax (“LAT”) of RM12.2 million as the high topline growth requires time to be realised as earned premiums in addition to normalisation of Motor claims post lockdown and investment losses. This was an improvement over 2Q22, and the Group expects this to continue to improve over the next quarters.

Rising customer count Tune Protect’s number of unique active customers has risen from 1.5 million in 1Q22 to 1.8 million in this quarter, a 20% increase over the year. The number of digital policies has also increased by 19% from 6.33 million in 9M21 to 7.53 million in 9M22. “We’ve launched a regional brand campaign in September 2022 with a focus on driving engagement on our mobile app with the ‘Click to Start’ campaign. Coupled with the aggressive e-Commerce and digital marketing campaigns, we are seeing favourable results in the number of customers and policies,” Rohit said. Tune Protect is committed to servicing its retail and individual customers with its 3:3:3 commitment where they can purchase insurance in just 3 minutes, receive a response in 3 hours and receive their claims payout in just 3 days¹.

Topline growth outpaced expenses Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Tune Protect Group’s Chief Executive Officer said that the Group’s 3Q22 results show that the organisation’s growth plans are on the right track.

“The Group managed to register robust 3Q22 topline growth which continued to outpace expenses. In addition, the company achieved a commendable retention ratio of close to 70% in all of our preferred LOB. There were higher commissions attributable to the increased topline, as well as rising operating expenditure (“Opex”) due to staff cost in developing talent and marketing cost in line with business recovery. Although investment losses narrowed during the quarter over the year, investments were still adversely affected by weak market conditions for bond funds, as well as equity.” “As an Insurtech, this is a vital KPI for us as it shows we are both expanding aggressively, but also investing in our tech and people’s capabilities,” Rohit said.


Improved ratios and normalising claims Rohit stated that the Group has persevered in its efforts to improve organisational efficiencies, especially on a ratio basis. “Other healthy indicators for the Group during the quarter were the improved expense and retention ratios. This was however impacted by normalising claims on the Motor segment. There was also strong growth of consolidated NWP across 3 of our core Lifestyle, SME and Health pillars, although the Commercial pillar declined in line with our plan to reduce exposure in this segment,” Rohit explained.

The Group’s healthy retention ratio increased from 48% in 3Q21 to 69% in 3Q22, which is very close to the Group’s target of 70%, attributable to solid YoY growth across all preferred LOB. The NWP improvement was led by the Health pillar driven by the Vietnam and foreign worker segments; the Lifestyle pillar was led by the personal accident (“PA”) segment; the Motor and Travel pillars were led by the Group’s digital partners; and the small and medium enterprise (“SME”) pillar was led by the Fire segment.

Fintech partnership in Vietnam The Group is also progressing with its expansion plan in Vietnam by announcing 2 new major partnerships in the country, including a giant digital payment gateway which is scheduled for launch by the end of 2022. The Group is partnering with one of the largest financial technology (“fintech”) companies in Vietnam with 15 million active individual users and more than 150,000 corporate clients. Continuing its stride in digital partnership, the Group has also secured Fly Arna, the Armenian low-cost airline as the 6th airline partner for its Travel business.

Our Tech business – White Label “We are also evolving our tech arm, White Label as a profit centre by continuously simplifying the company’s use of technology to offer our customers the best experience. This includes centralised records of customers, simplified and automated workflow processes, immediate policy processing, speed-to-market innovation as well as increased efficiency and data accuracy. Our mobile-first strategy continues to bear fruit with double-digit growth in digital partnerships and e-commerce in 3Q22. During the quarter, we went live with our core system phase 1 in Malaysia combined with cloud, making us the first insurer to put our core system on the cloud,” Rohit said.

Awards recognition Tune Protect has been recognised at the Insurance Asia Awards 2022, receiving 2 awards for the Insurance Administrator of the Year – Malaysia and the Travel Insurance Initiative of the Year – Malaysia. This is the third recognition for Tune Protect this year after the Employee Experience Awards 2022 Malaysia and its Thailand operations won the Global Banking & Finance Awards 2022.

Bonds to end year with positive returns However, the Group’s investment income in 3Q22 was weighed down by continued uncertainties in the Asia Pacific equity market, particularly in China. China’s Zero Covid Policy (“ZCS”) as well as the sustained record-high inflation in the US continues to be a drag on market returns. On the bright side, our conservative positioning in the domestic bond market has shielded us from much of the volatility arising from the relentless upward drive in the US Fed Fund Rates.

“We have made a conscious decision to cut our exposure in the equity market, while we are expecting our bonds to end the year with positive returns. Markets will continue to be volatile. The growing fears of recession led to a bond rally in July 2022, but it will take another quarter to confirm the direction of the US led global economy,” Rohit concluded.

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¹ Terms and conditions apply

• Drive financial inclusivity, promote good health, and create social impact to the community particularly SME, B40 and M40
• Flagship product, SME EZY, provide employee benefits to SMEs employees and dependents

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 November 2022 – Tune Protect Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (Tune Protect Life), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tune Protect Group Berhad (“Tune Protect” or “Group”) recently received conditional approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) to participate in the Financial Technology Regulatory Sandbox.

Geared to disrupt the life insurance market, Tune Protect Life aims to bridge the protection gap in the country by providing a differentiated value proposition to the unserved and underserved communities namely SMEs, B40 and M40, digitally. Tune Protect Life is also looking at first time insurance buyers and those who are new-to-insurance with its products and propositions to drive greater financial inclusivity. This is in line with its aspiration to provide simple and affordable pure life and health protection, particularly for this market segment. Tune Protect Life will use technology to simplify the process of buying, self-service, and claims.

Rohit Nambiar (“Rohit”), Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Protect said, “As Malaysia’s homegrown digital insurer, one of the Group’s business pillars targets SMEs to help mitigate against risk factors that come with owning a business. As of June 2022, there are about 1.2 million SMEs that make up 97.5% of the total number of business establishments in the country¹. SMEs are still the backbone of the economy despite the struggles during the pandemic and it is important to provide protection to their employees and dependents so that they can better manage their medical costs and ensure adequate insurance coverage for their employees. They can also be at ease knowing that their employees’ health, medical needs, and well-being are taken care of. With this in mind, we provide value propositions on protection and services and build on growth opportunities to reach out to the market. This was when we came up with the SME EZY proposition as we do see a positive future for the SME segment going forward as we continue building on our Health and SME business pillars.”

“For years, insurance has been perceived as expensive and is complicated to purchase. This is where Tune Protect Life steps in to provide simple, affordable, and easily accessible pure life and health insurance starting with employee benefit insurance for SME employees. The market can look forward to Tune Protect Life introducing more products and propositions via our business-to-consumer (“B2C”) channel; website and mobile app. The digital age has made every aspect of our life more convenient. It is no different when it comes to online purchase of insurance and with just a mobile phone, anyone can sign up for simple and affordable insurance,” Rohit added.

Koot Chiew Ling (“Chiew Ling”), Principal Officer of Tune Protect Life said, “Our first proposition, SME EZY is an employee benefit insurance plan that is targeted at SMEs as we realise that retaining employees and maintaining productivity is a challenge post-pandemic. It is designed to help SMEs plan their budget ahead with the flagship product being a group medical with fixed premium for 3 years, that also comes with a health-based rewards programme (“Activ8”) to motivate their staff to stay healthy. Healthier employees lead to increased productivity and a reduction in absenteeism, whilst at the same time they can be rewarded with up to 100% increase in the overall annual limit of their insurance cover based on their health assessment results. It’s a win-win for all.”


About SME EZY
SME EZY is an affordable, comprehensive medical and life coverage for employees of SMEs with a minimum of 5 up to 250 in the workforce and can also be extended to dependents. It comprises of 3 products, namely:

1. group term life
2. group medical – option of either the yearly product or 3-year product
3. group outpatient clinical

Employers have the flexibility to mix and match these 3 products based on their budget by consulting the brokers who are the distribution channel of SME EZY.

From less than RM400 yearly premium per employee, the unique value proposition of SME EZY is the 3 years premium guarantee for group medical. In addition to the fixed premium, employers who sign up can be assured of guaranteed renewal for the next 2 years regardless of claims experience.

The medical product also comes with a cashless hospital admission benefit and access to Activ8, a health and wellness rewards programme for employees. Through Activ8, a simple health assessment will be conducted annually for the first two years to grade employees’ health status which can earn them rewards of up to 100% increase in the overall annual limit of their insurance cover. On top of that, employees will also be given the access to health tools and health coaching programmes.

Other features of SME EZY include benefits such as cashless visit to panel clinics including General Practitioner and Specialist Care, and death or total and partial permanent disability of the insured employees.

“As a digital life insurance player, we will also bring innovation and end-to-end digitisation to allow a paperless transaction, where we empower business partners and businesses to buy, self-serve and submit claims with minimal human intervention. This brings us to our next call to action, which is to offer SME EZY via our B2C channels next year,” Chiew Ling concluded.

For more information on Tune Protect Life and SME EZY, please visit its website.

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¹ https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthree&menu_id=WXVrV3RYTmE3RmtwQ2RicVZTbVkvZz09