Zurich International Life won an unprecedented nine awards at the international life industry’s flagship event, the International Adviser Awards, held last night in London.
This was four more than the Athol Street based company won last year, and more than any other product provider working internationally.
The awards Zurich won are:
Middle East
• Best overall product range
• Best online proposition
• Best New Product – Easy Saver
• Best Protection Product – ITA
• Readers' Choice Award, Best International Life Company in the Middle East region
Asia
• Best overall product range
• Best Protection Product – ITA
• Best regular premium Investment Product – Vista
• Readers' Choice Award, Best International Life Company in Hong Kong
The International Adviser Awards are decided by a panel of industry experts who look at criteria including product design, distribution and servicing excellence based on data provided to them by third party companies and life industry analysts. Some of the awards, including the two Readers’ Choice Awards that Zurich won, are voted for by the company’s own customers – the IFAs and distributors who sell Zurich products within the Middle East and Asia.
The awards followed the International Adviser Fund Links Forum 2014, an annual conference which brings together the biggest companies within in the international life industry with some of the world’s leading Asset Managers and fund providers including BlackRock, JP Morgan, Investec, Invesco, M&G, Schroders, Matthews Asia and BNP Paribas.
At this event, Zurich International Life’s CEO, Clive Baker, took part in a live panel debate alongside the CEOs of six other international life companies looking at the industry’s key trends and future challenges. He spoke passionately about the impending regulatory changes in Hong Kong and of Zurich’s commitment to customers in that market, about the importance of protection products within a company’s product offering rather than having a sole focus on savings products through bank distribution, and about how Asset Managers should be working more closely with life companies to provide funds aimed at long-term growth aligned to the long-term investment objectives of our products rather than the three to five-year term so often seen.
Commenting on Zurich’s achievement, Clive said: “I am overwhelmed by our success and would like to say ‘thank you’ to each and every one of my team who have worked so hard together to help us serve our customers so well – they should all be very proud. These awards are testament to Zurich’s unwavering focus on serving the current and future needs of our customers in Asia and the Middle East, and our foresight in developing products that meet those needs.
“Similarly, I am delighted that our distributors in both Hong Kong and the Middle East have voted Zurich as ‘Best International Life Company’ reflecting the strength of our relationships and our joint commitment to our customers.”
Photo - The Zurich International Life team with their nine International Adviser Awards (l-r) Jon Cawley (International Marketing Manager), Claire Powell (Head of Investment), Clive Baker (CEO), Merita Taylor (Communications Manager) and Jon Burgess (International Propositions Manager).
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