A unique Award from AIA testifies high brand value
Venkat Raman
When Sam Tremethick, Regional Head, Institute of Financial Advisors and High Net Worth at AIA Group Office in Hong Kong visited New Zealand last fortnight to present a Special Memento to Global Finance in Auckland, it was considered an unusual occurrence.
Global Finance and its Managing Director Ajay Kumar are considered a premium asset by AIA, one of the largest insurers in the world and the Award was in recognition of the services provided over the past 20 years.
“We consider this a great honour,” Mr Kumar said.
Arguably, Global Finance scored a first; there has never been an occasion in the past for AIA to recognise any other insurance advisor or broker.
Mr Tremethick has since been appointed Chief Partnership Insurance Officer at AIA New Zealand based in North Shore, Auckland.
The Award was the second presented by AIA in as many months. In May, the insurer presented Global Finance with the ‘Top Advisor Award,’ for being the top insurance advisor within the AIA system in New Zealand.
Customer remains supreme
“These Awards are a testimony to the high standard of service that Global Finance has been providing since its establishment 20 years ago. We have always been a customer-driven company and we exist because of them. They are our apex court and there is no appeal beyond them. We accepted the honour from AIA as a Statement of Appreciation from more than 6000 customers who have been a part of us for two decades,” Mr Kumar said.
Three branches Statement
From his home garage office in 1999 and then Royal Oak, Mr Kumar and Global Finance arrived in Airport Oaks in 2006 and for the next 15 years stayed put, expanding and acquiring adjacent properties. Consolidation and strength of service were the main factors that kept Mr Kumar from branching out of Mangere.
“It was again our customers in West Auckland who demanded a branch in their neighbourhood. Apart from natural growth, increasing traffic congestion and other socio-economic factors necessitated a physical presence in Waitakere. Therefore, our first branch out of Airport Oaks was established in Henderson last year. It is today managed by Ravi Kacharia, who is fully geared to meet our own exacting standards of customer service. We opened our second branch in Manukau (managed by Himank Agarwal) last month in deference to the wishes of our customers in South and East Auckland,” Mr Kumar said.
The three offices of Global Finance provide the same level of professional and personalised service to customers, with its own unique formula of early liquidation of mortgage loans and sensible insurance coverage commensurate the needs and status of individual customers and their families.
Head Office Support
“Customer satisfaction is not an issue over which we compromise and hence just as our customers expect high levels of service from us, we expect the same from our staff. Which is why, we are extremely picky in appointing people. They belong to a highly motivated team, ever-ready to look after their mortgage and insurance requirements. In a market that is overcrowded and fiercely competitive, it is important to be alert all the time,” Mr Kumar said.
The branches at Henderson and Manukau call on the support of the mortgage and insurance teams in Airport Oaks to service customers.
“As at April 11, 2019, Global Finance has a strong complement of 41 people, with the expertise and experience of professionals. We have the benefit of the advise of highly rated finance and insurance persons. They have helped us to further raise the standard of customer service. We are constantly considering new levels of service,” Mr Kumar said.
State-of-the-art technology
Mr Kumar was proud of the new IT system which he said was ‘best of the best’ with an integrated Cloud network. Developed in conjunction with Microsoft, the proprietary network provides a veritable platform to provide services more efficiently than ever before.
“More importantly, we can access information and work from anywhere in the world. We are now able to bring market intelligence to suit individual needs of our customers,” he said.
Brightening Prospects
Global Finance is a company that has two types of aspirants- those who want to be its customers and those who want to be its employees. As the two are matched, prospects brighten for both. So long as there are people who want to own a home, and people who want to become debt-free much earlier than the loan structure, there will always be demand for the services of Global Finance.
Photo Caption:
- Global Finance Managing Director Ajay Kumar with the AIA Award
- Head Offices of Global Finance in Airport Oaks, Auckland
- The second branch in Henderson opened in 2018
- Manukau office opened in South Auckland in May 2019
(Pictures Supplied)
