NEWLISTING Kurnia Asia Berhad - TA Online

TA Securities Holdings Bhd25 Jan 2005GENERAL INSURANCE CLAIMS RATIO - KURNIA VS INDUSTRY80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%59%58%59%68%56%53%57%34%58%54%64%55%64%57%63%57%63%59%62%57%60%55%1994199519961997199819992000200120022003AverageSource : KurniaIndustryKurniaMOTOR INSURANCE CLAIMS RATIO - KURNIA VS INDUSTRY80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%69%60%199475%72%199567%60%199665%37%199761%56%199867%57%199970%59%200066%58%200166%60%200266%59%200367%57%AverageIn our opinion, the impressive performance of Kurnia is attributable to1) Professional and dedicated management teamThe management team under the leadership of Datuk Kua Sian Kooi hasbeen the key difference in Kurnia. Several members of the managementteam possess in-depth knowledge of the industry, having been in theindustry for years. Datuk Kua Sian Kooi's personal background as aninsurance agent at the age of 22 with Inshouse Sdn Bhd and later joinedWellead Sdn Bhd as an underwriter helped him in setting the proper systemand organisation for the group as well as in agency management. Thetop management is also hands-on in terms of formulating group strategiesand proactive in addressing growth constrains facing the company.2) Effective agency development and serviceInsurance is a volume business. And for Kurnia, since it is principally adirect underwriter (98.7% of gross premium income), it relies almostcompletely on its agents (7672 as of Nov '04). Hence, agency developmentand service is of paramount important.To maximise the performance of all the agents, Kurnia has a group ofmarketing executives who are assigned to look into all the needs of itsagents. The marketing executives agents are also responsible to ensurethat each agent under his care meets the predetermined sales target.Formalised training programmes comprising various external courses,seminars, and in-house courses are also an integral part of Kurnia agencydevelopment program.3) Utilisation of ITKurnia's eagerness to embrace the latest information technology haspositioned the group ahead of its peers. The group has allocated a budgetof RM70m for IT for the next few 3-5 years. KIMB is moving towardspaperless working environment and in line with this, it is migrating itsexisting system to web-based insurance application system, and itsexisting personal computers, network infrastructure and security will beupgraded to cater for the e-business expansion and a web-basedenvironment called Integrated Insurance Management System (IIMS).[ 2 ] Kurnia Asia Berhad